Tiglao to OPS, Cabrera to Cocolife

President Arroyo named yesterday Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao as concurrent press secretary effective April 1.

The President said outgoing Press Secretary Noel Cabrera has accepted her offer for him to take the post of chairman and chief executive officer of Cocolife Insurance, one of the subsidiaries of United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) which is partly controlled by the government through shares sequestered by the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG).

Cabrera picked the Cocolife position over three other options offered by Mrs. Arroyo: ambassador to Romania, attaché to Washington and government representative to a San Miguel Corp. subsidiary in Hong Kong.

Cabrera announced his new job during a press briefing at Malacañang following his meeting with the President.

Mrs. Arroyo announced her decision to give Tiglao the extra job during a radio interview earlier yesterday.

"On the day that he (Cabrera) goes to his new assignment, I have asked Secretary Tiglao if he could take over as press secretary," Mrs. Arroyo said.

Asked if he is willing to accept both positions, Tiglao replied: "I get instructions from the President. I will follow the wishes of the President to the letter."

He expressed optimism that the Commission on Appointments (CA) will not give him a hard time.

"I am very confident that members of the CA are men of principles and not of personalities," Tiglao said, referring to past verbal clashes with certain members of the powerful bicameral body.

Cabrera expressed gratitude for the presidential accommodations extended to him. "I’m so grateful to the President for being so generous and understanding for giving choices. But considering my personal situation, I decided to accept the one in UCPB."

Although Cabrera hinted at impending organizational reforms at the Office of the Press Secretary, he gave assurances that there would be a smooth transition of leadership.

"We will put into order the organizational lines. Maybe, we will be looking into streamlining some offices, delineating some functions and other plans," Cabrera said.

He cited Tiglao as a highly capable press secretary. "Secretary Tiglao is a very perceptive person and I think he knows the job. And in the almost one year that he has been functioning as spokesman and we have been working very closely together, I think he knows the demands and requirements of the press secretary."

Like Cabrera, Tiglao was also a former journalist before he joined government service.

Tiglao was a Nieman Foundation Fellow for Journalism at Harvard from 1988 to 1989 which has so far admitted only 11 Filipinos since its establishment in 1937.

He joined the Arroyo Cabinet in April last year. — Marichu Villanueva