In a bid to amplify government services, programs, and projects in the grassroots, the Philippine Information Agency in Western Visayas has launched the Barangay Information Officers (BIOs) in Bago City, the first in Negros Occidental.
PIA6 regional head Cheryl Amor, who led the activity at the Bago City Community Center Jan. 26, said it is the goal of the agency to bridge the information gap between the people and national government through the grassroots information frontliners – the BIOs.
Amor stressed the need to pool a network of information officers from the barangays to amplify government’s development efforts in a wide linkage of media platforms.
She said there is a need to identify an official mouthpiece and source of truthful information, for dissemination to immediate community.
“There’s also a need to stop the proliferation of fake news, and upturn worthy and verified information,” she said, adding that “we need to ensure that communication gatekeepers are to deliver one-message: development communication through capacity building activities.”
For Bago, the secretaries of all 24 barangays were mobilized as BIOs, a press release from the city said.
City Local Government Operations officer Mia Asuncion Gatilogo oriented them on DILG Memorandum Circular 2017-165, in support of the implementation of journalism/reporter training program for the provincial, city, municipal, and barangay public information officers.
Gatilogo said the legal basis of the memorandum circular is the 1987 Philippine Constitution, as she highlighted Section 7, or “the right of the people to information on matters of public concern should be recognized”.
The BIOs are recognized as the official focal persons on development communication by the PIA in information dissemination in the community.
Their roles include the dissemination of PIA-received advisories and other noteworthy information to their constituents for widest distribution and public awareness in the community; to be the source of development communication outputs of the agency;
Coordinate regularly with city information officer and PIA to deliver one-messaging in terms of government services; and to attend and participate in coordination meetings and capacity-building activities for competence development.
Acting Mayor Ramon Torres, who spoke at the launching, urged the BIOs to be credible enough, able to determine what is true and fake, and must have proper disposition on what is right and what is wrong.
He underscored that administration in government is not only about the elected officials, but the entire local government unit which is being supported by the workers.
“So as part of the administration, you have to defend its gains,” Torres told the BIOs, and urged them to be part of the solutions amid various problems and challenges hounding their respective community through the dissemination of right, accurate and relevant information.
During the launching, the barangay secretaries pledged their commitment as BIOs. They also expressed support as partners of the government, especially in upholding development communication in the barangays.
Bago information officer Ace Balboa assured the BIOs that the city government will continue to provide necessary support, like training and workshops on the basics of journalism and social media management, among others.
Also present during the activity were PIA6 deputy regional head Easter Anne Doza, who presented the Bagong Pilipinas campaign of the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., and PIA-Negros Occidental Infocen manager Lorenzo Lambatin Jr.
After Bago City, the PIA6 is also set to launch the BIOs in the cities of Victorias and Bacolod. ||
