Palace seeks P200-million budget for Carandang's office

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is seeking a P200-million budget for the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office headed by former broadcaster Ricky Carandang.

Carandang’s department is one of two divisions under the Communications Group President Aquino created through Executive Order 4.

The other is the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) headed by Herminio Coloma.

The PCOO replaced the Office of Press Secretary, which served the past administrations.

During last week’s hearing on the proposed P4-billion budget for the Office of the President, Carandang told the appropriations committee that he asked Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. for a budget of only P80 million for his office.

He said that of the proposed amount, Ochoa approved only P50 million.

Yesterday, however, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad wrote the House appropriations committee to ask for a P200-million budget for Carandang’s office and P50 million for the Truth Commission chaired by former chief justice Hilario Davide Jr.

Abad said half of the P500-million intelligence fund of the Anti-Transnational Organized Crime Commission (ATOCC) would be realigned to provide funds for the two offices.

Coloma’s office, on the other hand, would have control of around P1 billion in combined appropriations for agencies under his department.

PCOO manages the state-run television and radio stations, as well as the newswire service Philippine Information Agency.