Public safety info to come from PIA

CEBU, Philippines - The Philippine Information Agency shall now act as clearinghouse for all public safety broadcast text messages to avoid panic over unverified and false information sent to the public in times of emergencies and calamities.

The National Telecommuni-cations Commission recently issued a memorandum tapping the PIA to counter false information often times circulated through text messages during emergencies causing public panic.

NTC-7 director Jess Laureno said through their partnership with the PIA malicious text messages will be countered.

"This is to counter malicious text messages that may cause panic during emergencies or disaster situations such as typhoons, earthquakes, and floods among others," Laureno said.

Based on what was agreed upon, the NTC will order all Cellular Mobile Telephone Service (CMTS) operators to send the PIA text messages to its respective subscribers.

In cases of emergencies and when there are malicious text messages, the office of the deputy commissioner in-charge of Common Carrier Authorization Department (CCAD) shall coordinate with the office of the director general of the PIA or vice versa to determine the need to send public safety broadcast text message to the public.

"The content of the message shall come from the office of the director general of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA)," Laureno said.

Laureno was the guest in the forum organized by the Association of Government Information Officers (AGIO) in Central Visayas.

Upon receipt of the message from the PIA, the office of the deputy commissioner of the NTC shall issue the order to all cellphone operators to farm the text message to their respective subscribers.

According to Laureno, the telecommunication companies shall immediately comply with the order and they are also required to submit compliance report to the office of the deputy commissioner of the NTC within two hours from their compliance of the order.

PIA-7 and SMART Communications, Inc. recently launched the SMART Infoboard as part of the agency's program on Infotext Blast which includes weather updates and other related information and advisories.

The InfoBoard Service is a web-based solution that offers various SMS facilities with different functions and capabilities catering to the needs of the community.

On the other hand, Laureno said that region 7 will create a search and rescue team that will be composed of various government agencies to assist in cases of calamities or disasters in the region.

Laureno said that NTC-7 was able to assist Negros Oriental during the earthquake that hit the province recently. It has set-up a communication line that was available for free to the victims of Sendong and the killer quake. —/FPL - (THE FREEMAN)