ISABELA CITY, Basilan (PIA) – The benchmarking tour in this city has inspired local government units to empower and maximize the full potential of their designated information officers (IO), aligning with the goal of promoting good governance.
Zamboanga Sibugay Information Officer Almer Raagas described his visit to the city as an eye-opener for the province, noting that their Provincial Information Office has yet to be established.
“It’s exciting and very informative. This [benchmarking] is going to be a stepping stone para baka sakaling ma-open na talaga yung office ng Provincial information office,” he added.
Meanwhile, Zamboanga City Barangay Culianan IO Niko Jay L. Rojas shared that he was inspired by his experience and expresses hope that, similar to Isabela City—despite its small geographical size—launching the IsaTV channel, Zamboanga City, as a larger city, could also establish its own TV channel, where information officers from its 98 barangays could actively contribute.
“It made me think that I can do more as a BIO in Zamboanga City. The benchmarking tour opened my eyes to the fact that, regardless of the circumstances or what the city has to offer, I need to fulfill my role as an information officer by delivering news and information to the city so that they will know what is happening in the barangay,” Roxas said.
As of November 2024, out of its 2,388 barangays, the Zamboanga Peninsula, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi (ZamBaSulTa) have over 1,500 designated Barangay Information Officers who have undergone orientation and capacity-building training.
Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)-9 Information Officer Beatriz Faye Carreon highlighted the importance of the activity.
“This is very important to me because I believe that strong information dissemination really helps local government units towards good governance,” she said.
“The establishment of Barangay information Officers network is very important because it will help us reach to the grassroots level and also help us hear them,” Carreon added.
The benchmarking tour in Isabela City is an activity organized by the Mindanao Communicators Network, the organization of information officers in ZamBaSulTa and the Philippine Information Agency Regional Office 9. This activity is part of this year’s Search for the Most Outstanding Communicators Award, where Isabela City achieved Hall of Fame status for being a three-time consecutive awardee. (EDT/CCP/PIA9)
