RADYO INQUIRER/PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has appointed award-winning journalist and author Joe Torres Jr. as the new director general of the Philippine Information Agency (PIA).
According to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Tuesday, Torres’ appointment was made official on March 19.
He replaced Ramon Cualoping III, who announced his resignation on Monday.
“I am grateful to President Marcos for the opportunity and the privilege to serve the country in these trying times of misinformation and disinformation,” Torres said in a statement.
Torres has worked in various media outlets, both in the Philippines and abroad.
He served as a sub-editor for Saudi Gazette — the national newspaper of Saudi Arabia — as an investigative reporter for the now-defunct Isyu newsmagazine and wrote for The Manila Times, The Philippine Post, and The Sunday Paper.
He then joined ABS-CBN’s online platform in 2001; then he later played a pivotal role in the establishment of GMA News’s online presence in 2005. He also set up the online version of the tabloid Remate in 2009.
In 2010, he joined the Bangkok-based Union of Catholic Asian News as its managing editor. He later became editor-at-large for LiCAS.news, a Church news agency based in Bangkok, and served as a member of the editorial board of Radio Veritas Asia in 2018.
Torres also served as chairman of the Philippine Center for Photojournalism and holds a board member position at the National Press Club of the Philippines.