PIA shares strategic comm plan expertise with Butuan City planning officers, personnel
By PIA Caraga
BUTUAN CITY (PIA) — By 2028, the public will be well-informed of the Butuan City Government’s plans and programs.
This was the goal statement crafted by the officers and personnel of the Butuan City Planning and Development Department (CPDD) during the August 12–13 Strategic Communication Plan Workshop held in Butuan City, with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga as its subject-matter expert.
Engineer Iris Joy M. Cañete-Galaura, acting city planning and development coordinator, encouraged participants to contribute to the design of the Butuan City Strategic Communication Plan to ensure its programs, activities, and projects would bolster public awareness, especially in grassroots communities. “Together, let us answer the significant question of what we are doing to mainstream the city government’s plans and programs.”
Engineer Jake Bonn C. Dumpasan, assistant city planning and development coordinator, on the other hand, emphasized the CPDD strategy map, which is to transform Butuan City into a great hub of opportunities that spurs and supports Caraga’s sustainable growth and development.
“We have four priority development plans, namely: Comprehensive Land Use Plan, Executive-Legislative Agenda, Butuan City Energy Development Plan 2023-2050 and the Smart Eco Butuan – all designed to make Butuan City become a smart, sustainable and livable city,” Dumpasan said.
“This Strategic Communication Plan that we will work on will pave the way for our communities, stakeholders, partners, and investors to be aware and to participate in the fulfillment of the four priority development plans,” he added.
PIA Caraga Assistant Regional Head Renelle L. Escuadro, as resource speaker, said, “A communication plan is a strategic document that outlines how an organization or team will share information, the audience who receives the messages, which channels to use, and frequency or how often messages are sent, including identifying success indicators, physical and budgetary targets, and monitoring and evaluation.
Escuadro guided the participants in providing their inputs and suggested programs, activities, and projects for the Butuan City Strategic Communication Plan 2026-2028, using the key strategies on advocacy, social mobilization, and behavioral change communication.
Under the advocacy strategy, the Plans and Programs Division of CPPD suggested rebranding the department by creating an official tagline, hashtag, and logo that will be used in official correspondence, communication support, and on its current Facebook page. It also proposed activities to increase followers and engagement on its FB page and the creation of a TikTok account to strengthen social media presence and awareness of the CPDD.
The Administrative Support Unit and Project Evaluation Unit, under the social mobilization strategy, recommended that the CPDD conduct an information caravan during the Barangay Assembly and spearhead an annual barangay information officers conference to cascade the programs and the city government’s plans.
The CPPD’s Research and Development Division and Investment and Programming Division proposed an interactive zoning map that is accessible and user-friendly to reduce land-use mismatches.
Meanwhile, PIA Caraga, as the strategic communication partner of the city government of Butuan, also cascaded the government’s Maging Mapanuri campaign to the attendees.
“As you strengthen the CPDD’s engagement in the different media channels, especially in social media such as the new barangay plaza, we have to be cautious as information pollution has become rampant in social media,” the resource speaker added. “Let us be vigilant, follow the SPOT (source, purpose, ownership and time) strategy, and always fact-check statements, images or photos and videos.”
“The fight against information pollution — misinformation, disinformation, and malinformation, is a shared responsibility. As public servants, let us support the government in this endeavor,’ she told the participants.
The Maging Mapanuri campaign, as mandated by President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., is a nationwide media and information literacy initiative led by the Presidential Communications Office, and implemented alongside the PIA. (RLE, PIA Dinagat Islands)
