MINDANAO DAILY TRUTH. JUSTICE. PROGRESS.
Volume IX, No. 290
www.mindanaodailynews.com
Mon-Tue June 8-9, 2020
P15.00
Balik Probinsya enrollees hopeful of countryside opportunities Daughter of media in CDO, latest COVID-19 casualty By CRIS DIAZ Executive Editor
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY: The 34-year-old daughter of a member of the local media here died of the COVID-19 virus Sunday night, a medical report said Monday. Dr. Bernard Rocha, of the Northern Mindanao Medical Center (NMMC), here said that the latest victim here was declared dead on arrival Sunday night. He said that the victim reportedly complained of stomach pain, vomiting and mild fever two days prior to hospital admission. Rocha said that the result of the swab test taken from the victim confirmed that she was COVID-19 positive. See CASUALTY, page 8
By MA. ALAINE ALLANIGUE, GELAINE LOUISE D. GUTIERREZ and JEROME CARLO PAUNAN
URBAN poor recipients of government’s Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) Program expressed optimism of better opportunities in store for them in the countryside as they travel back home. Fernando Castiller, a 40-year old construction worker residing in a shanty settlement in Quezon City, said he was motivated to relocate back to his home province of Palo, Leyte, some 877.5 km. south of Manila, because of “better opportunities” for him to start anew. “Malaki inaasahan ko sa programa kasi dito mabibigyan kami ng pagkakataong magkaroon ng sariling pagkakakitaan ‘pag nasa probinsya na tapos, at least Scene at the Balik Probinsya, Bagong Pag-Asa (BP2) Program processing area in Quezon City where qualified kasama pa ‘yung pamilya,” beneficiaries observe strict physical distancing prior to departure. (PIA NCR)
See ENROLLEES, page 11
PCOO assures gov’t support to private media amid COVID-19 crisis By MAR JAY DELAS ALAS
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, June 6 (PIA) -The national government is committed to support private media entities as the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis takes toll on employment and health concerns of journalists. Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Martin Andanar underscored the role of private media in the country as a vital sector in reaching the grassroots
and providing necessary information to the public such as government-led programs beneficial to the community. “At the end of the day, when it comes to a crisis, the government is the last institution standing. Therefore, the government has the mindset to always help the Fourth Estate,” Andanar stressed during a meeting Saturday with members of the Pampanga media. The PCOO Secretary revealed he received reports of some private media
firms that have laid off all of its employees, while some were forced to downsize its workforce due to the adverse impact of the pandemic. “We’ve been to Manila, in Baguio City, and we saw that media workers are really struggling. We cannot afford to lose the media because they help the government disseminate news,” Andanar shared as PCOO regularly checks the status of journalists in the provinces. Total number of affected workers from the print and broadcast media firms af-
fected by the downsizing due to COVID-19 is now being finalized by PCOO so the government can provide assistance accordingly. He added that government media employees are instructed to double their efforts in producing information and press releases which the private media entities can use to increase their capacities for news production. “You are still free to criticize, but what is important is you report balanced news. See SUPPORT, page 8
Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Martin Andanar visits today City of San Fernando in Pampanga and assures the local media that the national government is committed to support private media entities especially during the ongoing coronavirus disease crisis. (William Beltran/ PIA 3)
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