The Commission on Appointments (CA) confirmed on Wednesday the appointment of Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil as secretary of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

Garafil, in a statement on the PCO Facebook page, thanked the CA.

''I am honored and humbled by the show of support for my confirmation as PCO Secretary. Special thanks to the members of the Commission on Appointments for their vote of confidence. It is truly an honor,'' said Garafil.

Garafil thanked her former colleagues, now partners in media for their kind words.

She also gave thanks to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr for the ''big opportunity to serve.''

In response to a question by Senator Risa Hontiveros, Garafil vowed to focus on fighting fake news.

“Fake news will not be tolerated by the PCO. We really abhor fake news…That’s why during my term, this is one of the things we will fight against during my term as PCO secretary,” Garafil said, citing that the PCO and the Office of the President have been victims of fake news.

“In fact, we are creating a media literacy program so we can focus on this. We will go to the grassroots so we can focus on the issue of fake news so that no one will fall victim to it and to teach our countrymen to be more critical of what they see and read on social media,” she added. DMS/Jaspearl Tan