he Congressional Communicators set up a booth of fun and games at the Consa Carnival last Oct. 14. Here, Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo is seen participating in the fair. (ConCom)













Who says Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo doesn't know how to have fun? 

She did just that on Monday, Oct. 14 during the opening of the 2024 Congressional Staff Association (Consa) Carnival. 

Quimbo, senior vice chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, was particularly drawn to the booth of the Congressional Communicators (ConCom), which was composed of media relations officers (MROs) of her fellow House members. 

“It was fun!” Quimbo said after winning in two of the carnival games from the crowded ConCom booth. 

Playing the games along with Quimbo was BHW Party-list Rep. Angelica Natasha Co, an appropriations panel vice chairperson. 

But there was more to ConCom's participation in the carnival. The solons' MROs also used it as an opportunity to highlight their campaign against the ever-persistent threat of fake news on social media. 

“Fake news remain a persistent enemy of truth in our society. We joined the Consa fair in an effort to spread awareness on how to spot fake news in social media,” said Romie Evangelista, the current president of ConCom. 

“Ang paglaban sa fake news ay isa sa aming advocacy sa ConCom (Fighting fake news is one of our advocacies in the ConCom), and we put a premium on credibility to what comes out in media as well as social media,” added Evangelista, who also covered both the House of Representatives and Camp Crame during his days as a journalist before working as a media consultant of Surigao del Norte 2nd district Rep. Ace Barbers. 

ConCom was established to organize communication officers, media relations officers and media consultants of members of the House of Representatives to help the institution in disseminating important information concerning legislative and advocacy work in the chamber. 

The month of October is HRep (House of Representatives) Month. It is celebrated in recognition of the contributions of all organic employees of the institution as well the staff of lawmakers in the successful performance of the duties of the Legislature. 
 

(ConCom)

Part of the celebration is the Consa Carnival, which features booths and "tiangge-type" stalls for the enjoyment of the employees of the House of Representatives at the North Wing Lobby from Oct. 14 to 17. 

ConCom put up a booth that offer fun activities such as ring-toss and shoot-the-ball games that offer free prizes for successful attempts of the game objectives. Members of the group also educate participants on how to spot fake news. 

The Consa Carnival will be until Oct. 17, but the ConCom booth will be open only until Oct. 16. Vince Borneo is the Consa president.