MANILA, Philippines — The Presidential Communications Operations Office will limit the content that can be posted by its social media platforms after drawing flak for sharing debunked claims about ABS-CBN's franchise.
In a department order issued Monday, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said cross-posting on the official social media pages of PCOO and its attached government media agencies shall be strictly limited to the livestreaming of news events and briefings of the president, presidential spokesperson, chief presidential legal counsel, PCOO secretary, and members of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
Related Stories
Andanar also allowed the cross-posting of major primetime news and public affairs programs of state-run media outlets People's Television Network, Radyo Pilipinas and Philippine News Agency.
The Radio Television Malacañang will continue to manage the cross-posting activities.
The policy would be implemented "in the exigency of service and to ensure content consistency," Andanar said.
The National Telecommunications Commission issued a cease and desist order against ABS-CBN last May 5, forcing the network to go off air.
The network's franchise expired last May 4 without the House of Representatives acting on bills for its renewal. Various sectors have condemned the shutdown of ABS-CBN, calling it an attack on press freedom and an effort to discourage critical reporting.
Last Saturday, PCOO's Facebook account shared a post by the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict falsely claiming that ABS-CBN's request to renew its franchise was disapproved because of the network's issues with the law.
The franchise renewal bills were just bypassed by Congress and were not disapproved because of legal issues.
Andanar has distanced himself from the post, saying it was shared "without the usual vetting process" of his office.