Presidential Communications Operations Office - Media Hero of the Year

Company: Presidential Communications Operations Office, Manila, Philippines
Company Description: The premiere communications arm of the Executive branch of the government of the Philippines.
Nomination Category: COVID-19 Response Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Media Hero of the Year

Nomination Title: Jusan Vincent L. Arcena

His office is also among those implementing the Laging Handa crisis communication plan of the PCOO with the Inter-Agency Task Force Against Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the National Task Force Against COVID-19. Under his leadership, his office bolstered the production of infomercials, TV and radio shows, virtual pressers, out-of-home advertisements, daily social media content, full-length and short documentaries, and publications, as part of the information dissemination campaign amid the pandemic.

Asec. JV is the Executive Producer and Production Head of the Laging Handa Documentary in September 2020, a series of experiential and informational short documentaries highlighting the lives of the frontliners, and those affected by COVID-19, and showing all aspects of the government’s response to the pandemic.

In the documentary series, he risked his own life to show to the public the actual situation on the ground amid the health crisis, in order to mitigate the spread of the virus. Despite limitations on movement, staffing, and protective equipment. JV and his team fearlessly went inside a COVID-19, quarantine facility, an emergency room in a COVID-19 hospital. Despite having a comorbidity with an autoimmune disorder that he recovered from in 2016, JV’s priority is to inform the Filipino people when it is needed the most. He strictly followed health protocols during all the shoots, and he never tested positive for COVID-19.

Mr. Jusan Vincent Arcena, or “JV,” joined the Presidential Communications Operations Office in November 2018, creating the Office of the Global Media Affairs to connect government policymakers with the international media and foreign audiences.

In September 2019, Mr. Arcena was appointed as Assistant Secretary for Global Media and Public Affairs (OGMPA). Under his leadership, JV introduced innovations in communicating the government’s policy messages and engaging the international and local media.

He pioneered the first virtual presser in the country in 2018, long before the pandemic. In 2020, the virtual pressers focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, becoming the main platform for the government to disseminate vital information on the guidelines during the community quarantine, public health standards to be observed, and the government response to all stakeholders.

With this innovation, it was repurposed for many other virtual pressers from other government agencies during the pandemic. The PCOO-OGMPA managed the establishment of the virtual pressers of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, the Presidential Spokesperson, the Department of Social Welfare and Development, the Task Group on Food Security, the National Task Force on COVID-19, Task Force Zero Hunger, and the Task Group on Economic Recovery. As a result, the PCOO disseminated vital information on various sectors. The PCOO also countered numerous fake news being circulated, as well as dismissed disinformation, through the media.

JV also launched the virtual reporting tour to show the local and international media the situation on the ground--such as response measures of the government against the health crisis--without the media leaving their homes.