Armed Forces launch Twitter account

Just a few days ago, the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) launched its own Twitter account under the username @teamAFP. The account was launched on Wednesday with no official fanfare and updated almost daily since then, gaining close to 300 followers as of this posting. The account has been used primarily to re-broadcast AFP news from third-party sources. However, AFP assistant chief for public affairs Maj. Enrico Ileto reveals that plans are afoot to widen public engagement via the account. "Mas palalawigin namin. Kasama siya sa plano, pero wala pang details (We will expand it further. It's part of the plan, but no details yet)," he told GMANews.TV. "Lahat ng mga Twitter and Facebook will be under one single command (All of the AFP's Twitter and Facebook accounts will be under one single command), and we will do it soon," AFP spokesman Brig. Gen. Jose Mabanta told GMANews.TV in a separate phone interview. The AFP is looking at using the Twitter account for crowd sourcing efforts similar to other government agencies. For now, however, Ileto said that its main sources of public information are The AFP Facebook Fanpage and President Aquino's official Twitter account. A staff of three to four people is managing the AFP Twitter account round-the-clock, the major said. The AFP is the latest government agency to establish its presence on the Twitter social media platform, barely a week after the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration and the Department of Education launched their own accounts. — VS, GMANews.TV