President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed journalist Jose Torres Jr., a two-time National Book Award recipient, as the new Director General of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
Torres’ appointment is expected to bolster PIA’s mission of disseminating accurate and timely information about government programs, projects, and services to the Filipino public.
Expressing gratitude for the opportunity, Torres, known for his exceptional investigative reporting and work in new media, acknowledged the challenges of misinformation and disinformation in today’s landscape.
As the country’s primary information arm, PIA operates through a network of 16 regional offices and 78 provincial information centers. Its mandate is to empower Filipinos by providing them with reliable information, enabling active participation in the nation’s democratic processes.
Throughout his career, Torres has worked for various media outlets both domestically and internationally.
He served as a sub-editor for Saudi Gazette, the national newspaper of Saudi Arabia, and as an investigative reporter for the now-defunct Isyu newsmagazine. He has also written for The Manila Times, The Philippine Post, and The Sunday Paper.
Actively involved in the journalism community, Torres has served as the chairman of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism and currently holds a board member position at the National Press Club of the Philippines.
