CALAPAN CITY, Oriental Mindoro (PIA)—The information officers play a critical role in putting an end to the spread of false information among government agencies, said the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
PIA Regional Head Jemin Guillermo said during the MIMAROPA Communicators’ Network regional meeting, Aug. 9, that it is important for information officers to fact-check the information they share with the public.
“That’s the role of the IO to inform the public, stop spreading that information— maraming maniniwala sa ‘yo kung ikaw ang nagshare. It is our venue for collaboration sa ating agencies,” she said.
The network is composed of regional information officers from various national government agencies in the MIMAROPA region.
It is designed to be an avenue for collaboration and the exchange of communication strategies and best practices among various government agencies.
Evangelyn Barcibal, senior agriculturist of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) Mindoro, shared the same view with Guillermo, underscoring the need to learn from other agencies in playing their role in information dissemination.
“Through this network, marami rin ako matutunan sa other agencies. Para maturuan kami sa information dissemination sa programs namin,” she said.
PIA Deputy Director-General for Creative Communications and External Affairs Katherine Chloe De Castro underscored the need for information officers to make the public understand the goals of their mother agencies.
Agencies must also explore creativity in using various platforms to reach communities through information dissemination.
She also stressed that the posting of press releases similar to those posted by their mother agencies may prompt the impression by Facebook as spam or trolling.
“I-tweak natin sya unti para di sya prehas sa mother agency. As government communicators, we make sure na naiintidihan ng mga tao ang ginagawa ng ating mother agency,” De Castro said.
On the other hand, DDG for Regional Operations Adolfo Ares Gutierrez, who is also a veteran journalist, gave importance to the need to improve themselves due to the crucial role of information officers in raising public awareness.
“What you read today, you might use five years later,” he said.
Another meeting to discuss the organizational structure of the network will also follow to institutionalize the group in the region. (RG/PIA MIMAROPA-Palawan)
