PIOs urged to be more organized

CEBU, Philippines - Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office yesterday urged a throng of public information officers in Central Visayas to be more proactive and organized in dealing with disasters.

Speaking at the opening of the three-day Regional Information Summit, Coloma called on PIOs to build during disasters an “ethos of taking responsibility, not one of avoidance, blaming and finger-pointing.”

In addition, Coloma said PIOs must deal with calamities in a more informed and organized manner.

 â€œTo prevent, we must pro-act not react. We must know ahead of time… and be informed, because we must become knowledgeable and literate on disaster risk reduction and management,” he said.

“(We should also be) organized because we don’t need to go far. We need to organize in the local level… to support the basic disaster risk reduction management office in the barangay, municipal, city, provincial, regional offices,” he said.

Coloma cited the book “Global Disasters” authored by Roger Addison in driving his points on disasters.

“Disasters don’t just happen accidentally or randomly. Disasters result from human error or negligence. Disasters happen because people failed to prepare. Disasters happen because people do not take their duties and responsibilities seriously,” he said.

He added, “Disasters happen because leaders do not lead and managers do not manage. Disasters happen because the absence of ethos –there is no proper sense of right or wrong. And because people’s actions are not fairly rooted in a well ordered sense of values, they fail to appreciate the value of the lives that are lost or impaired in the account of disasters.”

In his speech, he also recalled the typhoons that hit the country: Sendong, Pablo, and Yolanda.

He said PIOs and government officials should embrace the ethos of preparedness as an antidote to “mañana habit.”

The three-day summit, which serves as the consultative conference of Regional Association of Development Information Officers-7, centered on the theme “Relevant Information: Tool for Sustainable Development in Tourism, Environment and Disaster Preparedness.”

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III welcomed around 70 public information officers in Central Visayas who have gathered for the summit yesterday at Elizabeth Hotel.

“Public information officers give people information on what to do, where to go should there be disasters,” Davide said, adding PIOs take part in information dissemination to make properly informed constituents.  (FREEMAN)