After the first Luzon-wide conference for information officers (IOs), the Strategic Communications (StratComm) group of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) held the second leg of the conference for IOs in the Visayas from June 4 to 7 in Cebu City.

“The IO conference aimed to harmonize the communication strategies within the DSWD, anchored on the directions laid down by Secretary Rex Gatchalian,” Officer-in-Charge for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for StratComm and Agency Operations Service (AOS) Director Lara Duran said in her opening message.

Director Duran pointed out that the initiative is crucial in ensuring that all communication efforts of the DSWD are aligned and effectively cascaded across all regions.

During the first day of the conference, Special Assistant to the Secretary (SAS) for Strategic Communications Raymond Robert Burgos discussed the need for a unified communications in the agency and the rationale for the creation of the StratComm group, the communications and information arm of the DSWD.

“The  StratComm Group is responsible for formulating and implementing the messaging of the programs and services of the agency to properly and effectively deliver it to our clientele,” SAS Burgos said.

SAS Burgos also talked on the organization of the StratComm group, which has three offices headed by their respective directors.

Aside from the AOS headed by Director Duran, the other two offices are the Digital Media Service (DMS) led by Director Dianne Joie Ruiz, and the Traditional Media Service (TMS) with former broadcast journalist Aldrine Fermin as director. The three service directors also presented the respective tasks of their offices during the conference.

“As the communication arm of the department, the StratComm group ensures that we will continue the agency’s legacy of caring and compassionate service with  the brand ‘Bawat Buhay Mahalaga sa DSWD’ as the core principle of every DSWD employee,” Director Duran said.

Head of the YouTube Content Partnerships for Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines Siddharth Srinivasan and Google Head of Government Affairs and Public Policy Yves Gonzales also shared their knowledge in maximizing the platform, best practices, and ways to fight misinformation, through their recorded presentations.

The StatComm group conducted the first conference for IOs of the Luzon cluster last May 14 to 17 in Baguio City and is set to conduct another IO conference for the Mindanao cluster in Davao City on June 25 to 28. #