PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has sought the reestablishment of the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) to replace the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO), Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said on Saturday, October 6.
In a radio interview, Andanar revealed that the Press Secretary post has been offered to Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr., who remains torn between accepting the offer and running for senator in 2019 polls.
Andanar said he was ready to sacrifice his own position to stop Roque from seeking an elective post.
“‘Yung Office of the Press Secretary, ay ‘yun ang inaalok para kay Harry Roque. Ako naman ay handang magsakripisyo para lamang hindi tumakbo si Harry Roque,” Andanar said.
(Harry Roque is being offered to head the Office of the Press Secretary. I am willing to sacrifice so Harry Roque would no longer run.)
“Importante kasi si Secretary Harry Roque na nasa communications (Secretary Harry Roque is important in communications),” he added.
Duterte, in a speech on Thursday, October 4, said he would offer a new position to Roque, as he believed that the latter would unlikely win if he runs for the Senate in the 2019 mid-term elections.
On Friday, October 5, Roque did not divulge the new post being offered to him but hinted that it “currently does not exist.” He added that he would consider the President's proposal.
In 2010, former President Benigno Aquino III inked Executive Order 4, reorganizing the OPS into the PCOO and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO).
Duterte in 2016 abolished PCDSPO and transferred its functions to the PCOO, which was supposed to be renamed the Presidential Communications Office.
The PCOO, a communications arm of Duterte, has repeatedly drawn the public's flak for committing several blunders.
Andanar revealed Duterte's plan following the recent call of Senate President Vicente Sotto III to revert the PCOO back to the OPS.
Andanar admitted that he has no idea what his next role would be in government, once the PCOO is dissolved.
“I think I’ve already done what I could and I’ve already achieved my objectives for the government media,” he said.
“Kung saan ako gustong ilagay ni Presidente, syempre kung alam ko naman, kung pakiramdam ko eh kaya ko naman ang susunod na assignment ko, gagawin ko. Wala namang problema, eh. Karangalan ang magsilbi sa bayan, magsilbi kay Pangulong Duterte,” he added.
(Wherever the President places me, of course, if I think and I feel I am qualified for my next assignment, I will do it. There's no problem with that. It's a pleasure to serve the country and President Duterte. (SunStar Philippines)