Military turns to social media for citizen engagement

From the Sun Star-Manila (Jun 23): Military turns to social media for citizen engagement

TO EASILY get the concerns of the public and disseminate information on its projects, the Philippine military has decided to be more active in social media.

Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs office chief Harold Cabunoc said Tuesday social media presence is one way of strengthening citizen engagement and promoting transparency.

The AFP has two Facebook accounts, the Armed Forces of the Philippines which has 120,000 followers and Kawal Pinoy which has over 16,000 followers while its Twitter handle, @TeamAFP, has more than 35,000 followers.

Cabunoc urged the public to follow their social media accounts and post queries, if any.

“With the advancement of technology and a growing community of Filipino netizens, it is time for us to be more relevant by using technology and social media as an effective tool of communication. We want to promote patriotism through the advancement of social media trends and breakthroughs," said Brigadier General Joselito Kakilala, civil relations service commander.

The AFP held on Tuesday its second Social Media Summit at the AFP Theatre, Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City with information officers from the Department of National Defense, Philippine National Police, and academic institutions as participants.

http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2015/06/23/military-turns-social-media-citizen-engagement-414757