Information chief moving out to head PMS next month

Philippine Information Agency (PIA) director general Dr. Rene Velasco is moving out to become head of the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) next month after finally being persuaded by President Arroyo to take over the post.

Palace officials said Velasco, who once worked as chief of staff of some senators, including Edgardo Angara and Mar Roxas II, finally gave in to the presidential requests issued since last week.

"Yes, that’s correct," Velasco said. He confirmed that he is going to replace PMS head Rigoberto Tiglao, who was recently appointed ambassador to Greece. "I’ll most probably move to PMS next month."

Velasco, who holds a doctorate degree in political science from the University of Tokyo, also acted as policy and technical director to Mrs. Arroyo when she was vice president.

Velasco said he is still overseeing the information campaign for the value-added tax and supporting media dissemination and coordination on the government’s rescue and relief operations in Southern Leyte where thousands of people are believed to have been buried alive in a mudslide last Friday.

He said Mrs. Arroyo had designated Presidential Assistant for Eastern Visayas Vic Domingo to act as media liaison on the ground.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said there is no replacement for the top PIA post but Velasco strongly suggested to the President to put the agency under the Government Mass Media Group (GMMG) headed by Secretary Cerge Remonde.

Separating the PIA from GMMG resulted in poor coordination among concerned agencies that led to setbacks in projecting the correct image of the Arroyo administration, Velasco pointed out.

The top posts at the departments of agrarian reform and education, however, remain vacant.

Ermita said Malacañang would soon make an announcement as the President makes a final decision on her choices.

Ermita earlier said there is also a strong possibility that DAR officer-in-charge Nasser Pangandaman might be appointed in a permanent capacity as the government accelerates its land reform program and addresses issues of ancestral domain in Mindanao.