With Juan nearing, DepEd opens Twitter account to announce class suspensions

The Department of Education has jumped on the social media bandwagon and created an official Twitter account where they will post education-related announcements, a communications officer of DepEd told GMANews.TV on Monday. The account @DepEd_PH was created around 9:30 a.m. on Monday morning after a number of netizens, including GMANews.TV Editor-in-Chief Howie Severino, contacted the DepEd to inquire about the cancellation of classes because of Typhoon Juan. "DepEd set up today a Twitter account upon the suggestion of journalist Howie Severino to respond more quickly to the need to communicate critical and urgent announcements to as many stakeholders in the shortest possible time," said Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro. DepEd's move to join Twitter comes at a time when more and more Filipino youth are using social media networks to get news and other information. "This is an easy and cheap way to update many. We recognize that a lot of Filipinos are now following Twitter," said Tina Ganzon, Director for Communications at the DepEd. @DepEd_Ph has tweeted four times since opening their account earlier this morning. The latest tweet, posted at around 11:30 a.m., reads, "NO classes in Olongapo City today (Oct 18, Mon) declared by the City Mayor." DepEd is one of a number of government agencies that have begun using social media to disseminate information to the public. Last Friday, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAG-ASA) created a Twitter account, @dost_pagasa for posting hourly updates about typhoons. The account has gained nearly 16,000 followers in just three days. Other government agencies with official Twitter accounts include the Office of the President (@govph) and the Metro Manila Development Authority (@mmda). Of the 500 million Facebook users worldwide, around 16 million are Filipinos. More than 1 percent of the world's 165 million Twitter users are Filipinos. - GMANews.TV.