Metro Manila – Once again, the National Conciliation and Mediation Board (NCMB) bagged the Gold Award from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) for a commendable implementation of its communication programs for 2022. It has been a two-year streak for the NCMB since 2021 to receive a gold award for its effort in spreading relevant and necessary information for its clientele. The recent award was given by the DOLE – Information and Publication Service (IPS) during the Communication Planning and Multimedia Production Training held on 23 – 26 May 2023 in Tagaytay City.

Attended by DOLE Labor Information Officers (LIOs) across the country, Secretary of Labor Bienvenido “Benny” Laguesma highlighted the participants’ role and importance in helping the Department achieve its mission for economic recovery. He emphasized that news should embody five (5) different attributes such as Tama, Angkop, Napapanahon, Maaasahan, and Kapaki-pakinabang, to share proper and relevant news to its service recipients.

In 2010, the NCMB embarked on a journey to disseminate information through other media platforms, such as the NCMB Chronicle and Social Media, to further promote its programs and services. The Board believes that widening its media presence will help in reaching more audiences and bring them closer to achieving its mission of sustaining industrial peace. It was further strengthened and widened in 2021 through the use of various social media collaterals, teaser videos and creation of more social media pages for its regional branches.

The four (4) day activity allowed the LIOs to learn new practices and trends on communication and media management, and provided an avenue for representatives from different DOLE offices to contribute in the Department’s communication plans and strategies.
OIC Director for IPS Gerry Rubio pointed out that it is high time for the Department to develop its corporate social identity and communication plan to pave the way for all offices to deliver a unified corporate message.

In his closing remarks, Undersecretary for General Administration and Regional Operations Cluster Ciriaco Lagunzad III expressed that while commitment to serving the public has to be strong, information being shared needs to be clear and must reach target audiences.

“As Labor Information Officers, it is your task to disseminate accurate, timely, and relevant information related to DOLE’s policies, programs, projects, and activities for the public and media consumption” Lagunzad said. The undersecretary also stressed that information officers have to be knowledgeable and updated on various issues to be able to communicate them in a clear and understandable manner. “I’m sure that you will use your learnings from the resource speakers and from the best practices shared by your colleagues toward the establishment of bureaucratic efficiency that ensures accessible, prompt, and continuous services.”

END/ianne r. go