IN my years as a journalist, I had come to understand how communication officers - whether they be working for the government or for corporations - can shape public opinion in favor of their clients.
As spokesperson - and the front image - of their organization, communication officers convey their company's official position not only by the statements they put out to the press but also with their attitude towards the media.
Which is why I was disappointed upon realizing that some so-called "communication officers" are not up to the task of making the public understand what they were really up to.
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There's this government undersecretary who had earned the ire of our staff since our live broadcasts began last January.
The reason: this undersecretary would confirm his guest appearance at our news program and then cancel them at the very last minute - at one time, in the middle of our broadcast.
He also seems to have very flimsy excuses for cancelling his guesting, such as being in a meeting, or being unable to connect with our staff.
The problem is, his cancellations come during those times when we need his elaboration on topics that concern ordinary citizens, particularly consumers, the most.
After all, his department is one of those in charge of putting food on our table.
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But the problem with communication officers is more pronounced on the local level, in our cities and municipalities.
A few years ago, when OpinYon Laguna decided to conduct a lecture series for public information officers, we discovered that most of them don't even hold a Communication or Public Relations course.
Their chief qualification? They were recommended by the local executive as an "utang-na-loob" for helping them out during elections.
That tends to be a problem when they were faced with issues of public interest that come in conflict with their bosses.
Take, for example, this local public information officer who, when pressed by one of our staff on a particularly sensitive issue inside his city, could only parrot out the official position of the local executive.
Sayang! We had had high hopes on this PIO, as the city's information office had reportedly been in shambles before he took over.
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As I am writing this column, the province of Laguna is now into yet another confusing quarantine classification: General Community Quarantine "with heightened restrictions."
Some businesses will be allowed to open (again), but under a very restricted capacity, and public gatherings are still prohibited.
The problem with the officials running our Covid-19 response is that they can't seem to strike the appropriate balance between solving this pandemic crisis and reopening our badly-hit economy.
New Covid-19 cases still number by the thousands, and with the entry of the more contagious Covid-19 variant from India into the Philippines, I am not comfortable with relaxing our guard too soon.