Philippine delegates to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-China Media Cooperation Forum vowed to use digital transformation to combat misinformation and fake news and to promote understanding and cooperation. Luis A. Morente, director of the News and Information Bureau and concurrent managing editor of the Philippine News Agency, said the ASEAN media must embrace the era of high-quality communication to bring about a ‘moral call to action’ against unverified news and information. ‘I advocated the revival of the ASEAN News Exchange embracing digitalization in spreading good news to our public. In exchanging information in one basket, each country’s partner media bureau will be there ready to make verified news to contend against fake information,’ Morente said in an interview at the sideline of the forum held at the Shangri-La Hotel in this industrial city. Charlie Manalo, Manila Times columnist and one of the four Philippine delegates to the gathering of ASEAN journalists and news bureau representatives, highlighted digital transformation as a tool to promote cooperation and understanding. Manalo warned how much damage fake news would bring as the people continued to thirst for information. ‘And imagine bringing them fake news. Imagine the damage it will cause. (It) damaged relationships between towns on a smaller scale and damaged relationships between countries on a much bigger scale,’ he said, adding that it may result in conflict. The Manila-based columnist also warned that ‘some forces from the outside are trying to exploit’ the differences or misunderstandings among countries and ‘even using others as cannon fodders in their effort to escalate the matter to their advantage.’ He said digitalization has helped keep the communication lines open and continued to play a major role in fostering cooperation and healthy relationships between countries. ‘But fortunately, because of digitalization, fake news can easily be traced and refuted. In an instant, issues can easily be denied and corrected. As a result, relationships between our countries – China and the Philippines – remain strong,’ he added. The fight against the proliferation of unverified news and information, he said, will help maintain peace and stability not only in the region but on a global level as well. Digital sister-city program Manalo said digitalization could speed up exchanges of communications involving culture, heritage, economic, political and social information. Manalo and Morente promoted Cebu City as a prospect for a sister-city program with Wenzhou City where each government could establish cultural exchange on tourism, education and sports. ‘To date, like other ASEAN countries, the Philippines is open and will continue to be a willing partner, particularly in promoting tourism, trade, sisterhood, and other partnerships,’ Morente said in a speech. Manalo also underscored digitalization as a tool for operational efficiency in all business processes which, in turn, foster better productivity. ‘Digital transformation makes a business more efficient and profitable – when executed correctly. Technology can expedite processes, provide new ways to reach customers, and make it easier to adapt to market changes,’ Manalo said in his talk with 20 ASEAN journalists and China’s media think-tank representatives. He said that a click on a smartphone that leads a customer to loads of information about a certain product characterizes a fast-changing world that everyone should be attuned to. ‘In short, digitalization provides new opportunities to promote cooperation between individuals, groups, or even countries to generate relationships among all those concerned,’ he said.
Source: Philippines News Agency
