Saturday, July 05, 2008 DILG warns public vs bogus tri media group By Edmund B. Sestoso
THE local office of the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has warned the public not to transact any business with “bogus” tri-media organization.
The said group is allegedly claiming as affiliated with DILG. It solicits donations using the name and logo of the DILG in its letterheads and identification cards.
The defunct DILG Tri-Media Organization allegedly sold its ID cards with the DILG logo to chapters and sub-chapters it organized in other places outside Metro Manila. It has also been peddling the name of the DILG to be accommodated easily for media interviews and solicit donations for their so-called projects.
After receiving these reports, the DILG then issued the warning.
The media circle in the province and in Dumaguete City had not yet monitored the group’s movement, but some of them said that they might not identify the personalities because they might go directly to their victims and will go back to Manila without any trace of their arrival in the city.
There was no chapter of the same group in the city.
Negros Oriental Local Government Operations Officer Christopher Pastor confirmed that the DILG-Tri-Media Organization, including its chapters and sub-chapters, is not in any way affiliated with their agency.
He added that it is not even recognized as the official media group covering the DILG beat.
“It (DILG-Tri-Media Organization) has ceased to become as such after the election of a new set of officers and the formation of a new group in December 2007 called the DILG Press Corps headed by People’s Journal reporter Joel Dela Torre,” Pastor said.
He said that with the formation of the new group, the DILG Tri-Media Organization is not authorized to use the name and logo of the department in its letterheads, ID cards, and other forms of printed communications, or conduct solicitation drives in the guise that these are DILG-authorized projects.
With this, DILG Provincial Director Jofralito Lorico is advising the public to be cautious in dealing with the said organization, particularly their requests for solicitations and donations if any of their so-called officials and members might come to Dumaguete city and the province.
