DUMAGUETE CITY, Negros Oriental, Nov. 29 (PIA) -- The Association of Negros Oriental Public Information Officers (ANOPIO) welcomed its new set of officers who will be serving in the next three years.

ANOPIO is an aggrupation of Public Information Officers (PIOs) from local government units, national government agencies, and selected private institutions, cooperatives, and universities in Negros Oriental.

The association had its election of new officers on Nov. 22 at the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Dumaguete Branch which hosted the group’s monthly briefing in November.

Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) Dumaguete Branch PIO Risty Villahermosa was elected as the new president, replacing Valencia PIO Desiderio Tilos.

Tilos served as the ANOPIO president from 2019 to 2022.

Meanwhile, the new vice president for the north is Chris Calumba of Ayungon town and vice president for the south is Gherelene Rafols from the Negros Oriental State University (NORSU).

Canlaon City PIO Edna Lhou Masicampo was elected as the new secretary while Vanessa Regalado of Tanjay City was voted as assistant secretary.

The new treasurer is Bernard Barrera of Pag-IBIG Fund Dumaguete Branch, while elected as the new auditor is Erven Noay of St. Paul University Dumaguete.

Iris Gaso of the Department of the Interior and Local Government is the association’s new public relations officer.

BSP Dumaguete Branch Deputy Director Atty. Janice Jade Tan-Canonigo administered the oath-taking of the newly-elected officers.
In his acceptance message, Villahermosa said he is pushing to strengthen ANOPIO as an institution.

“Regularity of meetings is important so we shall do that either by in-person or by Zoom or virtual because I believe we can be more efficient in doing that. To enhance also our capacities and capabilities as PIOs, we shall continue to engage with our other partners in our field,” Villahermosa said.

On the other hand, Tilos thanked the ANOPIO members for giving him the opportunity to lead the group over the past three years despite the challenges encountered due to the pandemic.

He lauded the resilience of PIOs and underscored their important role in disseminating accurate information as the province faced a great crises along with other areas nationwide.

Also present during the election was Sta. Catalina PIO Danilo Gregorio Denopol, who served as president of the association during the late 90s to early 2000s when he was still the PIO of Basay town.

“My only advise to you as an association is to stick to the rules, stick to the goals. The new set of officers now has new faces, and we are now in the millennial times. We look forward to more development and innovation in line with the call of the times,” Denopol said. (RAL/PIA7 Negros Oriental)