Ex-reporter appointed to lead Capitol’s PIO

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III has appointed a former reporter of The FREEMAN as new officer-in-charge (OIC) of the Provincial Information Office (PIO).

In a memorandum October 1, Davide named Ainjeliz dela Torre-Orong to head Capitol's PIO.

She has been with the provincial government since September 2017.

“We will continue to carry out our mandate to provide to the public the information they need on the services of the Provincial Government that they can avail of, as well as the projects of the Capitol intended for everyone in the province,” Orong said.

She was first hired as an editor for the articles which were published for the official website of the Capitol as well as for its printed official releases. Before she joined the civil service, she worked as a teacher and a reporter and an editor of The FREEMAN.

When asked about their programs at the PIO, Orong said their office will be strengthening their network at the grassroots level through the youth reporters from the different cities and towns that they have trained.

“We will continue the programs that we have now, particularly engaging the people and letting them have a voice in the Capitol. Early this year, we started the Capitol youth reporters' corps and we intend to continue that,” she said.

Orong said that aside from ensuring that the information is available to the public, it is also the job of the PIO to help package the information in a manner which is appealing to the Cebuanos.

“But then ang amo gyud is to continue to work with the front line offices para matabangan namo sila sa ila services. So for example, instead of just coverages, we help them with their AVPs para comprehensive ilang presentations to the public and stakeholders,” she continued.

Before Orong took the post, Provincial Administrator Mark Tolentino used to be the acting PIO Head in the absence of an appointee.

The last time that the PIO had a confirmed department head was during the time of Jason Monteclar in August 2017.

He resigned around the time when a complaint on ‘conflict of interest' was filed against him before the Office of the Ombudsman in July 2017.

The complainant cited that there is conflict because he allegedly continued working and being paid as a broadcaster while holding office in the government.