Gov't Comms Academy breaks ground in Bukidnon

From the Philippine News Agency (Sep 27, 2021): Gov't Comms Academy breaks ground in Bukidnon (By Che Palicte)

COMMS SCHOOL. Project perspective of the proposed Government Communications Academy (GCA) located in Northern Bukidnon State College Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon. (PNA photo by Che Palicte)

MANOLO FORTICH, Bukidnon - The first state-of-the-art training facility for government media workers and information officers located within the compound of the Northern Bukidnon State College (NBSC) here broke ground on Monday.

The Government Communications Academy (GCA), a Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO)-led project, will focus on teaching communication to information officers assigned in barangays and national government agencies.

In his message, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar represented by Asec. Ryan Vincent Uy said the construction of the GCA will finally begin following its groundbreaking ceremony.

He added the GCA facility will be built on a 10,000-square-meter land that would also be open to media workers in the private sector who also want to take part in the training programs.

With a budget of PHP79.4 million, the project includes a two-storey main building, a parking lot, as well as the general landscaping of the surrounding open area which will be fulfilled in phases.

"The conduct of the first-ever National Information Convention in Davao City in 2018 made a lot of headway in revolutionizing the way we report the news about the government and how we respond to concerns such as capacitating our public information officers," Andanar said.

He added that the GCA also aims to be a financially sustainable institution by engaging into partnerships with the private sector under lease agreements or joint ventures.

"We are now realizing one of the greatest goals we have envisioned in the past five years of President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's administration. Not long after this, we will be able to witness the actual physical manifestation of the administration's all-encompassing Tapang at Malasakit," he said.

In a previous media interview, Andanar said: “Training programs include broadcasting and writing, among others. This profession is a vocation. It’s really something that you do because you believe in public service, in informing the people through development communication.”

Meanwhile, Jovelyn Delosa, NBSC Vice-President for Academic Affairs, said since the project is within the school's premises, their personnel, students and stakeholders will benefit a lot from the training, and networking activities to be done at the GCA.

"The project has already made a lot of headway for us in terms of planning for the future direction of our college in consonance with its mission, the true benefits of which will be seen in the years to come," she added.

Delosa said she saw the project as one of the ways for the government to attain well-coordinated communication strategies that are timely, proactive, and sensitive to the needs of the people and the times.

On the other hand, Mayor Clive Quiño thanked the PCOO for the project as he recounted the time Secretary Andanar shared his plan for the establishment of the GCA to him.

"When I invited him to be the guest speaker in our founding anniversary here, he told me he is planning to put up a center for communications. I immediately said that I have an available one-hectare land so he said he will put it in Manolo Fortich," he added.

Quiño also thanked President Rodrigo Duterte for giving the go-signal to start the project in Mindanao and most importantly in their municipality.

"As a Mindanaoan, we are very happy that our President has a heart for the Mindanaoans," he further added.

An additional PHP30 million funding was given by Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1154751