I think it is usually used in front of people's names. In this case "ia" can also mean "this" or "that", so they put ʻo to show that they mean "he", "she", or "it".
The way the female audio translater was TOTALLY differebt than how its spelled. She said Pehea Oia (Pehea Oiya). Isn't it supposed to be pronounced "Pehea O Eeyah"?
e kala mai...ia means he, she or it. So why arenʻt all these accepted by themselves as, "How is she?" or "How is it?" or written out as, "How is he, she, it?"? Why is only, "How is he?" accepted?