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May 25, 1987
MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT TO ENHANCE THE SYSTEM OF INFORMATION DISSEMINATION IN THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN PROJECTING PHILIPPINE GOVERNMENT POLICY, AS WELL AS TO STRENGTHEN THE FEEDBACK MECHANISM TO DETERMINE HOW THE FOREIGN PRESS VIEWS DEVELOPMENTS IN THE COUNTRY.
WHEREAS, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism and the Office of the Press Secretary have agreed to coordinate the flow of official Government information to the international community;
WHEREAS, the three aforementioned Departments have agreed to undertake a joint project aimed at enhancing the delivery system for news releases emanating from the government for the information of various audiences in the international community, and at strengthening the feedback and reporting mechanism which, would provide the President and the Cabinet with effective up-to-date information on media treatment of events obtaining in the Philippines for purposes of short and long-term planning;
NOW, therefore, the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism and the Office of the Press Secretary, in recognition of the need to implement the joint project, above, do hereby agree to promulgate the following provisions for the guidance of all concerned:
ARTICLE I
GENERAL PROVISIONS
1. All news releases prepared and issued by the Office of the Press Secretary and the Department of Tourism shall be simultaneously released to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Tourism for distribution, to the Foreign Service Posts.
2. Due to urgent character of the news releases, copies of the OPS-generated news releases shall immediately be sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Department of Tourism for transmittal to the Foreign Service Posts and the Tourism Attaches. All copies transmitted by the Department of Tourism and received by Tourism Attaches shall be furnished by the latter to the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer.
The Chief of Mission or Principal Officer and the Tourism and Information Attaches should evolve a system for the speedy release of the press releases to the media, taking into consideration the peculiarities of the newspaper and broadcast media deadlines in their area of jurisdiction.
3. In all cases, the release to the media of all press releases shall be subject to the clearance/approval of the Chief of Mission of Principal Officer and subject to the rules governing Attaches as spelled out in the pertinent provisions of the Foreign Service Act, as amended, and the Foreign Service Code. Provided , in the absence of the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer, the Charge de Affaires a.i. or Acting Principal Officer, and where the subject of the release is purely tourism matters, the Tourism Attache may make the release to media without the necessary prior clearance.
The Information Attache may, upon express authority of the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer, act as spokesman for the post. Unless expressly authorized by the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer, the Tourism Attache shall not act as spokesman on matters outside the area of competence for which he/she was assigned.
4. In cases involving fast evolving events, the Office of the Press Secretary shall keep the Department of Foreign Affairs informed through the fastest possible means, of the official position/attitude or statement related to such events which in turn will be transmitted by the Department of Foreign Affairs to the Foreign Service Posts.
ARTICLE II
FEEDBACK MECHANISM
Tourism and Information Attaches shall promptly and regularly submit reports to the Office of the Press Secretary through the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer on the reaction of the media to press releases sent to the Foreign Service Post indicating therein the specific news release used; the treatment accorded it by media, the interpretation given and whenever practicable, the analysis of the views and attitudes on the Philippines generated by the releases and any recommendations. The attaches shall course their other reports to their respective agencies through the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer and the Department of Foreign Affairs as required by the Foreign Service Code.
ARTICLE III
REVIEWS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Representatives of the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Tourism and the Office of the Press Secretary shall meet periodically to review the reports made on the feedback and to recommend appropriate action on the recommendations made by the overseas representatives of the three aforementioned Departments.
ARTICLE IV
1. Nothing in this agreement diminishes the authority of the Chief of Mission or Principal Officer further conduct of foreign relations at the post or his/her administrative supervision and control over the Attaches.
2. Department Orders, Circulars, Memoranda and other instructions or parts thereof, issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Tourism and Office of the Press Secretary which are inconsistent with any of the provisions of this Agreement, are hereby repealed or amended accordingly, except those requiring legislative action to effect repeal . This Agreement shall take effect immediately upon approval. Done at Manila, Philippines on 25 May 1987.
(Sgd.) | (Sgd.) |
Department of Foreign Affairs | Department of Tourism |
(Sgd.)
Office of the Press Secretary