The DSWD 7’s Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP) trained its project development officers (PDOs) on cyber security awareness and advanced Excel. The resource persons for this training included information technology officers Von Brian Adlaon, Reymark Lariosa, and March Lamanilao of the Regional Information and Communications Technology Section (RICTS).

March Lamanilao, information technology officer, discussed the importance of cyber security awareness and how to avoid cyber phishing. He reminded the project development officers not to trust online applications offering free downloads and to always check links and sources before clicking. “Never trust the free app because, in this free app online, you will be the product, and it will get all your details, which is a risk,” says Lamanilao during his cyber security awareness talk.

The participants expressed that the training enlightened them, especially the discussion on cybersecurity awareness, data protection, and other important information, like hacking and phishing, which are rampant nowadays.

According to Garfield Cielo, a PDO assigned to Bohol, the discussion on cyber security is an eye-opener for him to be more cautious, especially when sharing and posting information online. The 2-day training provided them with hands-on experience in expediting processes like encoding, trimming, pivoting tables, and name-matching of possible program participants.

The session also helped improve their skills in managing data, master files, program trackers, and databases. With these skill enhancements, the regional program management office hoped for a successful project implementation.

“I have learned a lot. The pivot table in VLookup will be helpful because we do not have to search the names one by one anymore. It will be easy for us to identify and find name duplication, especially the list that comes from other sources,” shares Junelyn Siangco, a project development officer assigned to Bohol.

Another project development officer from Siquijor Province, Marvin Uzarraga, said the resource person provided practical examples and techniques.

The program management office deemed it necessary to equip the field staff with appropriate skills and knowledge for the project implementation.

Regional Program Coordinator, Ma. Rosana D. Coritico hopes that with these learnings, the project development officers will apply these skills in their area and deliver a faster, more accurate, and more efficient implementation for CY2024. ###

(66) Views