Recently, the city government launched the San Pedro City Information Network (SPIN), a program that seeks to streamline and improve the local government’s information dissemination network.
One concern that SPIN aims to resolve, according to the city government, is the current gap between the communications strategies of the local government unit and the barangays.
The barangay may be the smallest administrative division in the Philippines, but it’s the most vital – and the most direct – form of local government. The barangay is always the first call of the people not only when it comes to disputes or calamities but also for programs and projects of the national and local governments.
However, when it comes to information dissemination, some barangays in the province of Laguna have much to improve. As local officials have tacitly admitted to OpinYon Laguna, some don’t even have their own information officer at all.
Added to this is the fact that certain social media pages run by barangays are dedicated only to “freshening” up the image of its officials instead of being actual vehicles to inform its residents.
One resolve, as proposed by a few local officials, is the establishment of a “barangay information officer” whose sole task would be to coordinate the information flow from within and between the local or national governments and their respective barangays.
There should, however, be two important caveats here: one, that barangay information officials should have had extensive training in communications and, two, that barangay information officials should be independent and not identified with any political color.
Much has been said and done about improving the quality of local information dissemination here in Laguna province.
In fact, during the first years of OpinYon Laguna, OpinYon Media Advocacies even sought out government information officers to train them on how to address the deficiencies faced by the LGUs when it comes to sharing information.
However, the issue of information dissemination within this government unit is another matter – one that LGUs should also focus on if they would want to maximize the vital role barangays play in our day-to-day lives.