SurSur Town IOs Undergo Journalism Training

To effectively disseminate timely and accurate information to the public, some 27 newly-designated information officers and writers from various offices of the local government unit of Cagwait, Surigao del Sur have undergone training on Newswriting, Feature Writing and Photo Journalism.

The said activity was aimed at training and enhancing their skills in writing to effectively disseminate relevant information to the public.

Yrica Jie Colongan, Social Welfare Officer I of Municipal Social Welfare and Development Office (MSWDO)-Cagwait, one of the designated information officer and writer of said municipality, expressed her eagerness to learn more especially that it is her first time to join in this kind of training conducted by the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) Caraga.

According to her, she has become more confident in doing her functions and responsibilities after gaining the necessary knowledge and techniques.

“I’m very excited because right after this training, I would become a contributor to the development of the LGU-Cagwait website. I have learned a lot from this training especially in writing news stories,” said Colongan.

Also, Mecifuro Hingpit, staff from the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Office (MENRO) Cagwait emphasized the significance of learning such training on news writing as it will help them become effective on their function as information officers of their respective offices.

“This training conducted by PIA Caraga is really a big help. We had several big events here in our municipality that we were not able to make known to the public because we are not that equipped in writing news and telling our stories to other people. However, now that we are trained, we are confident to write factual and timely news to our constituents,” said Hingpit.

During the two-day training, participants actively interacted with the facilitators and submitted their own write-ups focusing on their respective offices’ achievements, programs and services, as well as upcoming activities for critiquing.

These are also for posting, not only in the official website of the LGU, but also for PIA and other print media publications.

Apart from news and feature writing, they also learned how to capture good quality photos with the right cutlines.

Meanwhile, PIA Caraga regional director Abner Caga emphasized that the participants will serve as multipliers of sharing developmental information to the public.

Participants also received their certificate to show proof that they have gained the practical knowledge needed in their field of work. (JPG/PIA-Caraga)