September every year has been declared Public Relations Month pursuant to Presidential Proclamation No. 1357 issued on August 13, 2007.

The declaration is in recognition of the public relations profession and industry as a major contributor to national development and the socio-economic

Leading the month-long celebration is the country's premier organization for public relations professions, the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP). PRSP will gather practitioners from business and industry, government, non-profit organizations, hospitals, schools, hotels, and professional services, among others, as its opens its 14th National Public Relations Congress in Mandaluyong City today. The Congress will run until September 28, 2007.

Public relations has been described as a management function that creates, develops, and carries out policies and programs to influence public opinion or public reaction about an idea, a product, or an organization. Recent developments have seen the growing importance of the public relations profession.

The field, which includes advertising, publicity, promotional activities, and press or media contact, coexists with marketing and merchandising to create a conducive environment and climate for selling functions, in particular, to occur. Public relations practitioners are committed to underscore the substantial impact of the public relations profession on society. They are expected to highlight the stringent qualifications and responsibilities that this specialized field of endeavor demands of its practitioners.

As we mark this year's Public Relations Month, let us keep in mind that the public relations component of any organization can spell its success or failure, no matter how good its products or how popular its services may be.

We congratulate the Public Relations Society of the Philippines headed by its President Butch S. Raquel, its other Officers and Members on the occasion of their 14th National Public Relations Congress and wish them success in all their endeavors.