Author Topic: Too many cooks in the Palace press office  (Read 806 times)

hubag bohol

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Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« on: November 06, 2013, 11:01:13 AM »
Too many cooks in the Palace press office
INTROSPECTIVE By Tony Katigbak (The Philippine Star) | Updated November 6, 2013 - 12:00am


One year ago to be exact, I wrote a column entitled “A three-headed Hydra in Malacañang” about having too many voices speaking for the presidency. Today, the president is sadly finding out that his strategy of appointing three communications groups has truly backfired. In fact, his public image is on a steady decline because his spokespersons are doing such a poor job addressing the nation’s concerns — most of all when it comes to the pork barrel issue. The ideas they have tried when it comes to addressing this concern are almost laughable and, so far, not a single one has worked.

I think that whoever thought of advising President Aquino into taking 17 minutes out of primetime soap opera slots to talk about his daang matuwid was completely off base and downright ludicrous. Unless the president was going on air to break some earth shattering news such as he was going to give up his own pork barrel and keep just a fraction for calamity purposes, the viewers most likely cursed him for cutting into their viewing time only to tell them everything they have already heard before..

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2013, 11:03:54 AM »
Indeed, the president has had numerous opportunities throughout this entire pork barrel scam to make a difference and prove that his administration is more than just words, but he has yet to truly do anything. This is because the President and Congress refuse to let go of their pork barrel despite the fact that they can’t account for where it goes. It seems almost ridiculous when you think about it. They refuse to give up the people’s money that they have even though they can’t accurately account for where over P10 billion has already gone? Seriously, I hope that the administration understands why they are losing the public’s trust.

Plus, though they have been able to pull the wool over the public’s eyes before, I hope they realize that with information available at the click of a button, the public is not going to be so easily fooled anymore. While the president may eventually call for the abolition of the pork barrel (PDAF), changing its name to the new Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) isn’t going to fool anybody. What they are demanding now is transparency in government and proof of where their hard-earned tax pesos are going? Until that is something the president can do accurately, there will always be mistrust when it comes to the use of public funds. Can you really blame the people?

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2013, 11:04:42 AM »
Another perfect example is the calamity relief fund. News has been going around about Senate President Franklin Drilon trying to circumvent the Supreme Court TRO to free somewhere around P2.4 billion in pork that should be converted to “savings” for the calamity relief fund. However, the first question remains — why is the president’s calamity relief fund drained to begin with and where did it all go? If Drilon is allowed to push this forward and get the funds doesn’t it just seem that we are okay with the president not needing to account for the calamity fund that he previously had? Are we okay with it just disappearing?

Let’s face it, most of the calamity relief these days is coming from the private sector. I know I am not the only one who has noticed the good work being done by private groups to get aid and relief to those in need. Why has it been so hard for the government to get their help to the people when other organizations can do so? We must commend the work done by the networks ABS-CBN, GMA, and TV5 as well as other companies like Meralco, Maynilad, Philex, Smart, and PLDT for sending medical missions to Bohol and Cebu led by my colleague Mike Toledo. In addition, Ramon Ang of San Miguel must also be commended for his continuing efforts as well as Francis Tolentino of the MMDA in rescue and retrieval missions.

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2013, 11:05:24 AM »
One can’t help but ask – if these pioneering private sector companies can get help to those in need, why can’t the government?

Again, the sad reality here is that the public is already suspicious and therefore every single move the president makes will be met with skepticism and mistrust. Unless major changes happen, this will always be the case. And in fairness to the president, his is not a job that anyone would envy. He seems to find himself in a lose/lose situation. Almost every decision he makes from this point on will be met with anger from one sector. I guess at the end of the day he has to ask himself what he wants his legacy to be and make decisions based on that. It’s truly time that he stands up for himself in more ways than one.

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2013, 11:05:50 AM »
As many people said when President Aquino made that historical statement for the world to hear, it is not about him being a thief. As far as I know, no one has accused him of being a thief. It is about how he chooses to react to the mess that he currently finds himself in. He cannot always blame the former administration for their failings and corruptions for so long before he has to take responsibility for the office that he holds. No one is denying that GMA left a royal mess for him when she stepped out of office, but the fact remains that he is in charge now. What is he going to do about it?

Aligning his messages is certainly a step in the right direction. It is about time, President Aquino appointed Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (now known as the Press Secretary) to be his lead spokesman. In this way, his messages will not be misunderstood or misquoted as they will all come from and be vetted by the same source. Henceforth, Coloma will be the top dog in the Palace, the primus inter pares in the press office.

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2013, 11:07:32 AM »
My one question though is that news reports made it seem as if Coloma asked to be Malacañang spokesperson so that the other press people can focus on other matters. What other matters are these? Licking stamps and sending out brochures? As I mentioned before, back in my day we only had to contend with one press secretary who had the ear of the president. These days there is a virtual labyrinth of glamorous titles and fancy offices. I can’t help but think these are just a waste of public funds. Why do we need so many people to fulfill the office that one person should hold? I can’t help but feel that eradicating redundancy in the government is a good first step to gaining back public trust. Having so many offices doing the same thing not only confuses the public but costs a lot of money. This is actually something I mentioned a long while back but is only now being looked at after a series of blunders by the Palace “spin masters.”

So it seems that the president finds himself at a crossroads of sorts when it comes to his presidency. No one ever said the job was going to be easy and if he thought it was than I am sure he realizes now that it is not. He has already been called a liar in the news in recent weeks and he came out and said he was not a thief despite no one having accused him of being one. These are two words that are not good to have connected to your presidency. What matters now is what the president is going to do about it.  I can’t help but feel that these next three years are going to be crucial when it comes to defining the presidency. I hope he makes good choices.

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #6 on: November 06, 2013, 11:10:14 AM »
My one question though is that news reports made it seem as if Coloma asked to be Malacañang spokesperson so that the other press people can focus on other matters. What other matters are these? Licking stamps and sending out brochures? As I mentioned before, back in my day we only had to contend with one press secretary who had the ear of the president. These days there is a virtual labyrinth of glamorous titles and fancy offices. I can’t help but think these are just a waste of public funds. Why do we need so many people to fulfill the office that one person should hold? I can’t help but feel that eradicating redundancy in the government is a good first step to gaining back public trust. Having so many offices doing the same thing not only confuses the public but costs a lot of money. This is actually something I mentioned a long while back but is only now being looked at after a series of blunders by the Palace “spin masters.”

As it has happened, the broth is spoiled indeed... :P





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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #7 on: November 06, 2013, 01:31:21 PM »
and lo and behold, they came up with a witch's brew.  and they all lived unhappily ever after. 8)

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #8 on: November 06, 2013, 01:47:40 PM »
"If you ask me what I came into this life to do, I will tell you: I came to live out loud." ~ Emile Zola~  ‎(ᵔᴥᵔ)

bugsay

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #9 on: November 06, 2013, 03:20:18 PM »
pwede pod ilisan atong trid taytol nga mas mohaom pa.....too many crooks in the palace press office..:-*

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hubag bohol

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Re: Too many cooks in the Palace press office
« Reply #10 on: November 06, 2013, 04:47:46 PM »
pwede pod ilisan atong trid taytol nga mas mohaom pa.....too many crooks in the palace press office..:-*

He he, aron mosamot kahaom, pwede tangtangon na lang ang mga pulong "press office". :P

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