Army’s CMO officers undergo public affairs training

DAVAO CITY, July 14 (PIA) – The Philippine Army has recently organized a public affairs training, aiming to capacitate newly-designated officers of the Civil Military Operations (CMO, S7) under the Eastern Mindanao Command.

The Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for CMO, G7 of the 10th Infantry Division together with CMO Manila spearheaded the training in the city last week which involved 33 CMO officers from the different Infantry Brigades and Battalions of the 4th and 10th ID.

The three-day public affairs training included inputs and practical exercises on radio broadcast, television broadcast, press release writing, social media, on-cam interview and holding a press conference which were provided by invited private media and the Philippine Information Agency-11.

Enhancing the knowledge and skills of their officers is a continuous effort nationwide which is done yearly, said Col. Thomas R. Sedano, Jr, executive officer of the Office of the Assistant Chief of Staff for CMO-Manila.

This year, the first to undergo the training held in June were the Luzon-based units, followed by the Eastmincom this July, he said.

CMOs from the Western Mindanao will get the training this week, while the Visayas units will have it last week of July.

“With the fast turn-over of CMO officers due to promotion or transfer, there’s a need to require our new officers to go through a capacity building activity,” Sedano stated, adding “We’re putting the right personnel in the right job.”

10th ID spokesperson Capt. Ernest Carolina said the training also intends to teach the CMO officers who are involved in public and civil affairs, to “convey the right messages and exact information” to the public through the tri-media as well as the social media.

“With the transformation being undertaken by the Philippine Army, we need to capacitate the new officers in the CMO,” said Ltc. Llewellyn Binasoy, CMO assistant chief of staff of the 10th ID. (PIA-11/Carina L. Cayon)