MICHAEL MEDINA
Editor-in-chief
TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE—Governor Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo treated local media to a thanksgiving party the other week, thanking them for the partnership in making known the best of Lanao del Norte.
The 28-year old governor said it was his pleasure having partnered the various media outfits from Iligan, Ozamiz and Pagadian cities, including those in Lanao area.
During the party, Dimaporo recalled the accomplishment of the media in putting off the stigma of Lanao as a war-torn province and countering this with news that Lanao del Norte today is the “land of beauty and bounty.”
“This is our way of expressing our gratitude for all your continued support to the various undertakings of the provincial government and for being instrumental in delivering timely and relevant information to our constituents,” Dimaporo said.
“Together, we did a good job in promoting Lanao del Norte and I am very happy. We could not have achieve that level of promotion for the province without our media partners that’s why I would like to thank you and spend (my time) with you tonight to acknowledge your partnership with our provincial agenda to promote Lanao del Norte,” he quipped.
“This is something that we cannot achieve overnight or even in a year or two but if we persistently promote the province, sana lang, our protiomotional activity will outshine the negative media and the backlash we exprerience from the rouge MILF attacks,” Dimaporo added.
To recall, it was in April, last year, when Dimaporo called on the local media telling them that he is determined to erase the stigma of the province being portrayed as a war-torn territory.
During that first meeting with the young governor, Khalid aired his sentiment, presented his plans and projects and indulged media to publicize the province’s good points.
“There is a big improvement now in Lanao del Norte, I believe people have seen it. We have improved, ,” was his message then to media.
“But the problem is that people outside Lanao del Norte have not seen that improvement, they do not know it. They still think that our province is all bukid,” he added.
The governor cited embarrassing instances wherein footages of mountains and interior barangays are shown everytime news reports about Lanao del Norte would be tackled on national television.
“They’re not showing the Mindanao Civic Center. They’re not showing our provincial and municipal roads, our Capitol, our agricultural livelihood but only the impoverished areas,” Dimaporo lamented.
“I do not know where they get their footages but it seems like they entered an MILF training camp. That’s a bad presentation of Lanao del Norte,” he said.
“We have that stigma that we are a war-torn province, we cannot deny the fact that we have the MILF but they are in the boundaries of Lanao del Sur and their targets are the Christians along the coastal towns,” he said.
He then cited the importance of responsible journalism, where journalists show and present the correct information. “Only that can remove the stigma of Lanao del Norte,” he said.
Dimaporo further said this was the reason why he called on tri-media practitioners to a forum to present the state of developments of Lanao del Norte.
“We called upon your help to inform the people and you did it. Your were there during the times we need you the most,” Dimaporo concluded.
TUBOD, LANAO DEL NORTE—Governor Mohamad Khalid Dimaporo treated local media to a thanksgiving party the other week, thanking them for the partnership in making known the best of Lanao del Norte.
The 28-year old governor said it was his pleasure having partnered the various media outfits from Iligan, Ozamiz and Pagadian cities, including those in Lanao area.
During the party, Dimaporo recalled the accomplishment of the media in putting off the stigma of Lanao as a war-torn province and countering this with news that Lanao del Norte today is the “land of beauty and bounty.”
“This is our way of expressing our gratitude for all your continued support to the various undertakings of the provincial government and for being instrumental in delivering timely and relevant information to our constituents,” Dimaporo said.
“Together, we did a good job in promoting Lanao del Norte and I am very happy. We could not have achieve that level of promotion for the province without our media partners that’s why I would like to thank you and spend (my time) with you tonight to acknowledge your partnership with our provincial agenda to promote Lanao del Norte,” he quipped.
“This is something that we cannot achieve overnight or even in a year or two but if we persistently promote the province, sana lang, our protiomotional activity will outshine the negative media and the backlash we exprerience from the rouge MILF attacks,” Dimaporo added.
To recall, it was in April, last year, when Dimaporo called on the local media telling them that he is determined to erase the stigma of the province being portrayed as a war-torn territory.
During that first meeting with the young governor, Khalid aired his sentiment, presented his plans and projects and indulged media to publicize the province’s good points.
“There is a big improvement now in Lanao del Norte, I believe people have seen it. We have improved, ,” was his message then to media.
“But the problem is that people outside Lanao del Norte have not seen that improvement, they do not know it. They still think that our province is all bukid,” he added.
The governor cited embarrassing instances wherein footages of mountains and interior barangays are shown everytime news reports about Lanao del Norte would be tackled on national television.
“They’re not showing the Mindanao Civic Center. They’re not showing our provincial and municipal roads, our Capitol, our agricultural livelihood but only the impoverished areas,” Dimaporo lamented.
“I do not know where they get their footages but it seems like they entered an MILF training camp. That’s a bad presentation of Lanao del Norte,” he said.
“We have that stigma that we are a war-torn province, we cannot deny the fact that we have the MILF but they are in the boundaries of Lanao del Sur and their targets are the Christians along the coastal towns,” he said.
He then cited the importance of responsible journalism, where journalists show and present the correct information. “Only that can remove the stigma of Lanao del Norte,” he said.
Dimaporo further said this was the reason why he called on tri-media practitioners to a forum to present the state of developments of Lanao del Norte.
“We called upon your help to inform the people and you did it. Your were there during the times we need you the most,” Dimaporo concluded.