By Gideon C. Corgue
LABANGAN, ZAMBOANGA DEL SUR – The
newly installed 1st Infantry division commander has recently urged
military officers to establish and develop good rapport with the media.
In his message in last Thursday’s fellowship with
the local press at the Officers’ Club House, Camp Major Cesar Sang-an, Pulacan,
Labangan, Zamboanga del Sur, Brigadier General Daniel Lucero underscored the
crucial role of media in the promotion of peace and security by the Armed
Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
BGen. Lucero recalled that when he was the
commander of the 103rd brigade, he lost a number of good commanders for failure
to establish good working relationship with media. “They failed to properly
relate themselves with the media, thus they were relieved from their posts,”
Lucero declared.
Lucero, who once served as AFP spokesman during
the time of AFP chief Lieutenant General (LtGen.) Narciso Abaya from April 2003
to October 2004, admitted that though he has no formal education and training
about media handling but he learned it in his own way.
The Tabak chief recalled that on his first day of
handling media at the AFP General Headquarters, he met American Public Affairs
Officers and national media practitioners.
“I received several phone calls from the media as
early as 3:00 a.m. even during weekends. I have to attend to their calls
because if I will not do so, they will report to my boss that I am sleeping on my
duty,” Lucero said.
“I learned to smile even though I was not feeling
great and that I called it as ‘media harassment’,” Lucero quipped.
Lucero, however admitted that during his stint as
spokesperson in the AFP he had learned many lessons. “One good lesson that I
learned was to value media relations,” he said.
He also shared with his senior and junior
officers some important points in facing the media: Be ready of giving
information, know their educational background and leanings, the message to
send should be clear for them to absorb.
The 1st Infantry Division has existing
Tabak Defense Press Corps that is responsible for disseminating information on
the programs and activities of the AFP under its president Leah Agonoy. (PIA9)