PCIJ welcomes new executive director

The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) is pleased to announce that it has selected Vino Lucero as its new executive director, following a months-long selection process led by the organization’s Board of Trustees.

Vino brings more than a decade of experience working in journalism, international development, and media advocacy as he takes on the top staff leadership role of the oldest nonprofit investigative reporting center in Asia.

Vino started as an editorial desk intern for the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in 2014. After finishing his journalism degree at the University of the Philippines – Diliman, he then worked as a content producer for PCIJ from 2015 until 2019, reporting on public-interest issues like the government’s war on drugs, declared wealth of public officials, and other politics and governance topics.

From 2020 to 2023, Vino worked with Asia-Pacific non-profit organization EngageMedia, leading local and regional projects promoting digital rights, media freedom, and digital safety. He served as event lead for the inaugural Digital Rights Asia-Pacific Assembly (DRAPAC) in Chiang Mai, Thailand in 2023, which convened more than 500 digital rights advocates from 30 countries.

More recently, Vino led the implementation of the Indo-Pacific Media Resilience Program, a three-year EU-funded regional project under Internews Europe. Through this role, he was able to work with journalists, newsrooms, and civil society in Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand in countering and monitoring disinformation and foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI).

He also served as a country researcher for global research efforts like Freedom on the Net and Global Data Barometer. He was also an inaugural fellow of the Young Justice Leaders program of New York University – Center for International Cooperation’s Pathfinders for Peaceful, Just, and Inclusive Societies.

This development in PCIJ’s leadership comes as the organization embarks on a strategic reset given the fast-evolving challenges and realities in the local and international media and information landscape. Vino will lead PCIJ as the organization, similar to other media outfits in the Philippines and all over the world, faces challenges in shrinking media development aid, difficult audience engagement and retention, and lopsided power dynamics with big tech companies and social media platforms.

Vino succeeds Carmela Fonbuena, who ended her term as PCIJ executive director in July 2025.