Tuguegarao City, Cagayan – The ECC Information Officer in REU 2, Remedios V. Andrada recently attended a two-day training on “Writing for the Web” for the Information Officers (IOs) of the Department of Labor and Employment’s (DOLE) attached agencies which was held at Hotel Carmelita, Tuguegarao City.

The activity was conducted by DOLE in partnership with the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in order to enhance the IO’s writing skills and broaden their knowledge in performing their primary functions as government communicators.

DOLE Region II OIC – OIC  Assist. Director Atty. Russel Jallorina kicked off the training by sharing his knowledge about opinion and editorial writings. He said, “A good writing should be short enough to arouse the interest of the readers, but long enough to cover the essentials.”

Meanwhile, PIA Regional Director Purita Licas tackled about news and feature writings. “A good news should not leave readers anything unanswered while a feature story should always bring growth and development,” she explained.

Discussions about technical writing for social media management and desktop publishing were made by Angely Mercado and Alvin Delos Santos of the PIA. The two explained the importance of adapting a web-based style of writing in reporting advocacies and programs of the government.

Media practicioner Mark Djeron Tumabao lectured about photojournalism and photography. He explained the difference between the two areas. “The latter is basically taking photos while the former depicts the emotions associated with the subject of the picture,” he elaborated.

Remedios V. Andrada, ECC-REU II Information Officer shared her thoughts about the training. “This initiative  helped us further our skills and knowledge in disseminating information effectively. It gave us new perspectives about the lives of the people we feature in our stories,” she said.

ECC Executive Director Stella Zipagan-Banawis expressed support to DOLE IOs, “The job of our iInformation officers gives them the opportunity to be the face of the DOLE, including ECC. And with this training, I know that they are more equipped and skilled now,” Banawis ended.

Remedios V. Andrada, Information Officer II, ECC Regional Extension Unit II; editing by Carlo A. Katigbak