A vice chairman of the House Committee on Public Information defended on Monday, June 6 Malacañang's decision to accredit vloggers for coverages.
According to Kabayan Party-list Rep. Ron Salo, the government’s tapping of vloggers has its advantages.
"In this age of social media when vloggers have huge followers, the decision to accredit them by Malacañang is a highly welcome opportunity," Salo said.
"This will facilitate the dissemination of information to our people. This will ensure that more people are informed of government policies, programs and services and will allow them to meaningfully participate in government affairs," the lawmaker noted.
More importantly, Salo believes that vloggers and traditional or mainstream media can together "work hand-in-hand".
"The participation of vloggers in information dissemination will complement and work hand-in-hand with our tri media (TV, radio and print) as they appeal to different sets of audience," he explained.
Earlier, Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Robert Ace Barbers said traditional media should remain "on top of the food chain" in terms of the source of serious national news even with vloggers around.