DG Cualoping with PCO ASec Francisco Rodriguez III (beside him at left), Dr. Alan Ada Lachica, Acting VP for Academic Affairs and Dean of Students, NDC PH (beside Rodriguez) with NDC UAE delegates and other PIA officials have their picture taken in front of PIA Building in Quezon City. (Photo by Jumalynne Doctolero, PIA-NCR)
QUEZON CITY, (PIA) --Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Director General Ramon L. Cualoping III highlighted the Agency’s role in nation building by providing timely and accurate information on government policies, programs and projects down to the grassroots level during the courtesy visit of the delegates from the National Defense College of the United Arab Emirates (NDC UAE).
The high-level delegation composed of 19 representatives led by Brigadier Staff Pilot Khalifa Butti Thani Alshamsi is on field study visit in the Philippines between March 11 and 18, 2023 as part of the efforts of the Philippines and UAE in strengthening mutual defense and diplomatic relations.
In his briefing, DG Cualoping discussed the Agency’s flagship communication strategy, #ExplainExplainExplain, which aims to thoroughly describe public policies and programs and empower citizens to participate in the democratic processes and contribute in the nation building.
DG Cualoping also shared the Agency’s rich history and the vast organizational structure having 16 regional offices and 78 information centers in provinces across the country.
“Each PIA regional office is in charge of the planning, implementation and evaluation of the Agency’s programs in their respective regions,” he said
“The PIA also works hand-in-hand with various national government agencies in communicating the policies, programs and key accomplishments of the administration,” he added.
Furthermore, DG Cualoping said the Agency also assists Local Government Units (LGUs) through capacity-building activities on matter of information dissemination.
DG Cualoping receives a token from Brigadier Staff Pilot Khalifa Butti Thani Alshamsi who leads the NDC UAE delegate in their courtesy visit at the PIA. (Photo by Jumalynne Doctolero, PIA-NCR)
The Director General himself is a student the National Defense College of the Philippines and he also discussed the PIA’s support to the security of the nation.
“PIA has been supporting the whole-of-nation approach of the government by strengthening its framework, particularly in the role of information dissemination, in line with the Agency’s mandate,” DG Cualoping said.
However, the Director General said achieving this goal nowadays is not an easy task with all the misinformation, disinformation and fake news circulating on the mainstream and digital media.
To fight this, DG Cualoping said it is important to know the target markets or audience.
“Each market requires a different level of understanding and different strategy on how to make them listen and understand,” he said.
In the midst of challenges that hinder us from doing our job as communicators, DG Cualoping has this to say: “We can be effective communicators if we always work with merit, service, and excellence.” (PIA-NCR)
