MANILA — The Presidential Communications Operations Office – Office of the Global Media and Public Affairs’s Laging Handa Dokyu won a major award at the Gandingan Awards 2021 of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.
This year’s Gandingan 2021: The 15th UPLB Isko’t Iska’s Multi-media Awards organized by the UP Community Broadcasters’ Society named the Laging Handa Dokyu as the ‘Most Development-Oriented Public Service Program’.
The UP Community Broadcasters’ Society announced the winners through the Online Gandingan Awards which was livestreamed via Facebook on May 22, Saturday.
Gandingan Awards is the recognition program of UP that highlights the value of development communication and the contribution of both national and local or community-based media practitioners and organizations in changing the lives of the Filipinos.
“It is a great honor to receive such a prestigious award. I am very grateful for the recognition given by the people behind the Gandingan Awards. This affirms the PCOO’s tireless commitment to communicate and inform the public during this pandemic,” PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said.
He added that COVID-19 has greatly affected how Filipinos communicate and how much they rely on digital media to remain informed. He also underscored that the “PCOO has initiated alternative means to showcase the dedication and passion to serve as shown by our Filipino healthcare workers and frontliners who are putting their lives at risk in the fight against COVID-19,”
“Other than the usual reportage, we have taken it a notch higher, by providing the public with documentaries on stories that matter and on issues that allow the public to be empowered and to take action,” the PCOO chief said.
Meanwhile, PCOO-OGMPA’s Assistant Secretary JV Arcena, who is also the executive producer/production head/host of the Laging Handa Dokyu, assured that the PCOO will continue to produce more content and documentaries that promote accessible information for the Filipino people.
“Rest assured, the PCOO will continue to promote accessible information for all. We will also continue to fulfill our mandate and ensure that we keep the public informed and aware of government programs and services that benefit them,” he said.
Asec. Arcena, a finalist for Best TV Program Host, bared that other Laging Handa Dokyu episodes, such as Red Zone, Repatriation, Baguio: Contact Tracing and Oragon, were also recognized as finalists at the Gandingan Awards 2021.
Sec. Andanar was also a finalist for Best AM Radio Program Host for his programs CORDS-X and Cabinet Report.
On Laging Handa Dokyu ‘Hot Zone’
The Laging Handa Dokyu is a series of short informative documentaries that focuses on the lives of healthcare professionals and other frontline workers, as well as all the facets of the national government’s proactive response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Hot Zone episode showed one of the most dangerous places at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was inside the emergency room and Intensive Care Units of one of the COVID-19 referral hospitals, the East Avenue Medical Center (EAMC) in Quezon City.
The hospital was where the severe and critical COVID-19 patients were admitted and treated by our modern-day heroes – the healthcare workers.
The documentary highlighted how healthcare workers risk their lives to fight the dreaded virus. At the same time, the episode showed how COVID-19 patients fought for their lives.
‘Hot Zone’ also showcased the actions of the national government in addressing the rising cases of COVID-19 by increasing the number of treatment and isolation facilities in the country, as part of the national COVID-19 response strategy.
The PCOO-produced Laging Handa Dokyu also won a prestigious international award at the recent 2021 Stevie Awards.
The said documentary program received a Bronze Stevie award for Innovation in Documentaries.
Laging Handa Dokyu, now on its third season, airs every Sunday, 9:30pm, on PTV, IBC, and PCOO pages.
###
