Headlines

PCOO launches 'DDS Podcast' amid recent blunders

June 4, 2017 | 8:17am

PCOO launches 'DDS Podcast' amid recent blunders

Uson at a press briefing at the Palace. Philstar.com/file

MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Communications Operations Office on Sunday launched another show that seeks to trumpet the Duterte administration’s gains amid the backlash over recent blunders, including the use of wrong photos in online posts about the Marawi crisis.

“DDS Podcast” hosted by PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar and Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson is meant to provide “unhampered” and “unadulterated” information about the activities of Duterte and his officials.

DDS was originally an acronym for the Davao Death Squad, an alleged vigilante group that critics of Duterte claim executed criminals upon his orders while he was still Davao City mayor. Duterte and his allies have denied the allegations.

Allies of Duterte adopted the acronym and now say it means “Duterte Diehard Supporters.”

The podcast was heard over the Facebook pages of PCOO and Radio Television Malacañang and was also aired on state-run radio station dzRB.

The first episode of the podcast lasted for an hour and had a segment about Duterte’s activities during the previous week and videos about the PCOO and its plans for state-run wire agency Philippine News Agency.

According to the video, the government plans to make the PNA at par with its counterparts in other countries like Malaysia and China.

'Symbolic photo'

PNA stirred controversy recently after using a wrong photo in a story about the Marawi siege. The state-run news agency used a Vietnam War photo from media file repository Wikimedia Commons. Uson also drew flak for using a photo of the Honduras police in an online post asking the public to pray for Filipino soldiers in Marawi.

While PNA apologized for the mistake, Uson justified her error, saying the photo she posted was just “symbolic” and that she did not claim that it was taken from Marawi.

The PNA also erroneously reported last month that 95 nations were convinced that there were no extrajudicial killings in the Philippines during the third Universal Period Review of human rights. No less than the UN Human Rights Council refuted the story in its Twitter account.

Andanar admitted in the podcast that PNA is experiencing “birth pains.”

“There are times that mistakes are committed. But we have just started with the retraining of the staff,” he added.

On Friday, a portion of the action movie "Logan" was accidentally streamed over the Palace's official Facebook page.

Uson to boss Andanar: You are doing a good job

The program also provided Uson an opportunity to heap praises on her boss Andanar.

“Since you assumed your post, our countrymen have become aware of the PCOO,” the assistant secretary said in Filipino. Uson runs the popular Facebook page "Mocha Uson Blog".

“You are doing a good job. The public is feeling the presence of the PCOO,” she added.

Andanar thanked Uson for the kind words as he talked about the improved online presence of PCOO and government media outlets like Radyo ng Bayan, which is scheduled to be relaunched as Radyo Pilipinas.

The "DDS Podcast" also featured a radio drama about the life of a drug user and messages of support from Filipinos abroad.

The PCOO has been aggressively using state-run media and social networking sites to promote the activities of the president and to counter reports that are seen as negative.

It recently released an online propaganda video that sought to shore up support for Duterte’s martial law declaration in Mindanao. The agency, however, was forced to delete the video after it was heavily criticized for its poor quality and for allegedly conveying a misleading message.

PCOO has also launched “Mula sa Masa, Para sa Masa (from the masses, for the masses), a television program that allows Duterte to speak directly to the nation.