MANILA, Philippines - A newspaper columnist will be joining President Aquino’s communications team along with broadcast journalist Ricky Carandang and another newspaper columnist, Herminio “Sonny” Coloma.
Manuel Quezon III announced in his column that it was time for him to bid his readers goodbye since he had accepted the President’s invitation to become a member of the Communications Group that would replace the Office of the Press Secretary.
“My specific functions will focus on strategic planning in terms of messaging (including market research and polling), as well as editorial aspects of official communications, which in turn ranges from editorial guidelines and policies in general, to the Official Gazette in particular (bringing it from the 20th to the 21st century), to corporate identity and institutional memory,” Quezon said.
Sources said international broadcast journalist Rico Hizon of BBC World News was also being asked by the President to be part of the communications team. But the result of the talks between Aquino’s men and Hizon was not yet known.
Carandang, who resigned from ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC) last Friday, reported in Malacañang yesterday.
“First day at work. I feel like the new kid in school,” he said in his Twitter account.
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Mr. Aquino had formed his communications team and that the President was confident that his appointees would fulfill their task of effectively delivering the message to the people as well as getting feedback from the public.
“The reorganization of concerned offices, including the Office of the Press Secretary, is being finalized and the members of the team will be formally announced together with the release of the executive order once it is signed,” Lacierda said.
Lacierda said among the first tasks of the new communications group would be to determine how it would handle the National Broadcasting Network and other government-run television and radio stations as well as attached agencies of the Office of the Press Secretary, such as the Philippine Information Agency.
He said the group would also look into how they could improve the programs on government TV stations and whether they would tap popular personalities to join the shows.
The group will be setting up Twitter and Facebook accounts where the public can air their grievances and leave comments, Lacierda said.
Meanwhile, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said that he is willing to be President Aquino’s economic adviser as he was with his predecessor, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
He, however, said there was no formal offer yet from Mr. Aquino but he had been occasionally giving advice to him during the campaign.
When asked if he was willing to serve as presidential economic adviser again, Salceda said “of course.”
Aquino and Salceda were classmates at the Ateneo de Manila University.
Salceda served as economic adviser to Mrs. Arroyo for several years when she was still president.
Arroyo is now congresswoman of Pampanga.
Salceda took many by surprise when he bolted Arroyo’s party Lakas-Kampi-CMD and joined the Liberal Party to support Aquino during the last presidential campaign. – With Helen Flores
By Aurea Calica
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