Bohol PIOs train on responsible 

AI use, spotting misinformation

TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol (PIA)—For Doris Isabel Racho, drafting social media captions, press releases and report summaries used to eat up the hours she needed for planning and talking with citizens.

“Very relevant, very helpful gyud ang Al (Al is really very relevant and very helpful). It makes our work easier,” said Racho, information officer of Agricultural Training Institute in Central Visayas and president of the Association of United Development Information Officers (AUDIO)-Bohol.

Racho was among the public information officers from local governments and national agencies in Bohol who trained on using artificial intelligence (Al) safely at the Digital Transformation Center in Tagbilaran City.

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) held the training through its ICT Academy in Central Visayas.

Al frees communicators from routine work, giving them more time for planning, digital safety and engaging citizens, Racho said.

Spotting fakes

The training, "AI in Government Communication: Tools, Techniques, and Responsible Use for PIOs" also taught participants to recognize the risks.

“These learning sessions will help PIOs recognize AI-generated misinformation, manipulated content, and other emerging digital risks while encouraging the productive and responsible use of AI technologies,” said Charles Jave M. Retanal, DICT project development officer.

Retanal said Al can reduce errors, work around the clock, automate routine tasks, keep improving and support better decisions.

He also discussed its risks:

-AI “hallucinations” or false information that sounds true

-Sycophancy, or Al telling users what they want to hear

-“LLM grooming,” the deliberate seeding of false content to influence Al answers

-Realistic fake images, audio and video, including deepfakes and cheapfakes.

“Responsible AI means designing and using Al systems in an ethical, safe and transparent way that protects human rights and well-being”, Retenal said.

Participants were introduced to 10 AI tools that can help government communicators produce content faster and deliver information to the public more efficiently.

The training is part of the DICT’s Al literacy and ethics program, which runs alongside its cybersecurity initiatives.

Rey Anthony Chiu, government information center coordinator of the Philippine Information Agency in Bohol, said using Al responsibly in public office builds public trust, since public service means accountability. (ECB/PIA7-Bohol)

More than 40 dedicated public information officers, who are members of AUDIO-Bohol, successfully completed training on Artificial Intelligence for Information Services on October 19, 2026, at the Digital Transformation Center in Tagbilaran City. The use of AI in government communication can significantly contribute to improving public service delivery, operational efficiency, and engagement with residents through automated tools, real-time analytics, and multilingual support. (ECB/PIA7-Bohol)