Inquirer Appoints New Executive Editor, COO

PHILIPPINE DAILY Inquirer (PDI) Sunday Editor Joseph Voltaire “Volt” Contreras and Rudyard Arbolado have been appointed as the newspaper’s new executive editor and chief operating officer (COO), respectively.

According to an Inquirer report, Contreras replaced Jose Ma. Nolasco, who retired on February 25, while Arbolado replaced Renato Reinoso, who retired on December 31. 

Contreras for the Editorial Side

As executive editor, Contreras will manage the editorial group, setting editorial direction and other policies.

Contreras started at the Inquirer as a sports and news correspondent in 1991. He officially joined the company as a proofreader in 1993, and rose through the ranks from 1994 until 2008, when he became a copy editor.

He has covered a wide range of beats from the police to Congress, the Sandiganbayan, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR), and the foreign affairs, agriculture, environment and natural resources, education, interior and local government and social welfare departments.

In 2011, Contreras was appointed chief of reporters and named Metro editor a year later. He was appointed Sunday editor in March 2018.

Arbolado for Business

According to the same report, Arbolado, as COO, will be responsible for the company’s daily operations to achieve the company’s strategic business goals and financial objectives.

Prior to his appointment, Arbolado had been PDI head of finance since 2016, while concurrently serving as general counsel. He is also corporate secretary for charitable institutions like Gifts & Graces and the Inquirer Foundation.

Arbolado started his career in PDI as a general counsel in 2007. A lawyer and certified public accountant (CPA), he earlier worked at Accra Law, GMA News Media, AMA Capital Holdings, and Unicapital Securities.

PDI president and CEO Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez appointed both Contreras and Arbolado.