The Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) will launch on Wednesday an online media 'forum called “V-Café@DOLE" to ramp up its information campaign amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a statement, the DoLE said the initiative is pursuant to the directive of Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III for the department to further improve its information campaign as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic.
“It is during crisis when the people need news and information the most. And as government prepares for the recovery, we need to enhance our capacity to keep the people abreast of what the government is doing,” he said.
“This weekly online 'talakayan' adheres to current protocols on social distancing while helping usher in the new normal in media engagements and the conduct of public discourse on the web,” added Bello.
The inaugural edition of DoLE’s V-Café will feature Bello himself who will field questions via Zoom, Facebook Live, and other social media platforms, on the day’s current issues and labor developments.
According to Bello, "the structures imposed by social distancing compels us to take advantage of the growing reliance on on-line platforms for group meetings while also ensuring the safety of media practitioners.”
To be conducted once every week, the V-Cafe@DOLE will feature a key labor official, and from any of its 59 attached agencies, bureaus, offices, and the various Philippine Overseas Labor Offices and regional and field offices.