• PCO chief keynotes social media bloggers’ roundtable
• President Duterte vows to investigate intelligence, discretionary funds of LGUs
• Andanar: Task Force to review past cases of Media Killings

Hosted by Mae Paner, popularly known as Juana Change, also present at the occasion were Blog Watch officers Jane Uymatiao, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, Bernadine Racoma, and Juned Sonido.

Andanar discussed the proposed amendments to the charter of People’s Television Network Inc. He outlined plans to integrate PTV-4 and Radyo ng Bayan into one entity to be called People’s Broadcasting Corporation (PBC).

Sponsors of the PBC bill are Senator Loren Legarda and Rep. Pantaleon Alvarez, incoming House Speaker.

Andanar also discussed the “collapsing” of the Presidential Communications Operation Office (PCCO), Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), and the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson into one unit, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

“There will be one Secretary, which is me, and four Undersecretaries below, as against the seven Undersecretaries before. So now we’re streamlining, we’re saving money for the government, and at the same time, we are avoiding the confusion in messaging,” he said.

The PCO chief shared that among his priorities once the PBC is established would be to put up broadcast hubs in Visayas and Mindanao, and come up with an emergency broadcast protocol with Davao as the rational location since it is outside the typhoon belt.

“Another reason why the hub will be in Davao is because once we set up a satellite broadcast in Mindanao, then we will set up the first Muslim channel, which will be called Salaam Television. And we will also set up the first Lumad channel,” Andanar disclosed.

As for the proposed National Communications Policy, he said it is about institutionalizing the communications process that will make the flow of information from one executive department to the other line agencies as smooth and seamless as possible. He plans to assign one Philippine Information Agency (PIA) officer per department to handle crisis communications professionally.

For the National Conversation, Andanar said it is a monthly activity to be organized by the PCO. “The reason we need a National Conversation every month and continuously for the next three or six years, the usual failure of government is that it loses touch with the realities in life,” he said. (PND)

Last Friday, the President vowed to create a special body to look into the intelligence and discretionary funds of local officials that may be misspent.

“Many localities in the country are so dirty and yet the mayors are not doing anything about it,” he said.

“There is trash and garbage around and if you have to wait for the plastic to go inside the drainage every time there’s a downpour and excessive rain water, nagka-clog,” he said.

The President stressed that the governors and mayors could effectively manage their garbage well because they have their respective discretionary funds.

“I will create a special team. I will review pati yung intelligence funds ninyo. Yan ang pinakamadaling mapasok sa bulsa eh. Yung mga mayor na hindi performing, you make your city clean and peaceful,” he said.

PRRD added that local officials who have beautiful offices and who use expensive vehicles should be ashamed of themselves. PND

“You know what they say, justice denied is certainly injustice,” he said, adding that “it’s about time, I believe the current Secretary of Justice would also agree, that we should hasten all of the past cases and give justice to those families who have been victimized by the overdue process.”

In an interview over DZRB, Andanar said “right now, we have a 20/20 hindsight of what happened in the previous years. But what is most important is that we get through this task force against media killings, and once we have this signed, and we have been tasked by the President through an administrative order, then it’s a very positive direction for us to be able to investigate, to be able to seek justice for those who has been victims of extrajudicial media killings.”

On the illegal drugs issue, Andanar said “the alleged drug lord Peter Lim has come out in the open. He cleared his name and he has expressed his intention to the President that he will do just that. Now, the burden is on Peter Lim, and we do encourage the rest of the suspects to do the same.”

The PCO chief stressed that “as far as I can remember in history, I have not seen a President who has been so brave in announcing to the public the people who have been or allegedly are behind this menace of drugs.”

He said “the President has even named the Level 5 drug lords or alleged drug lords who are the highest that you can get in the hierarchy of those who are selling, pushing, or peddling illegal drugs.”

Regarding the draft Executive Order on Freedom of Information (FOI), he said it has been finalized and the President is expected to sign it this week.

Andanar said there are non-contentious issues on the FOI. “As a matter of fact ay na-finalize na ito. Dumaan na ito sa ating legal counsel, sa pangunguna po ni Secretary Panelo. Ito rin po ay dumaan na sa mga abogado po, sa Executive Secretary,” he said.

“Ang nangyari po last week we were overtaken by events. Like for instance, the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. So doon po tayo nakatutok lahat. But this week, sisikapin po natin na mapirmahan ng Pangulo,” he added. PND