Palace denies Noy unhappy with communications group

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has not made any complaints nor hinted at the slightest displeasure over the performance of his nearly three-year-old communications group, Malacañang said yesterday.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said: “I have seen the President on a daily basis in the last week and he hasn’t said anything that would give me that particular impression. I actually don’t know where that particular observation came out.”

Aquino skipped reading his prepared speech and had the teleprompter removed at last week’s Care for Philippines Prayer Assembly on the Occasion of the Global Discipleship Congress of the Christ’s Commission Foundation, Inc. and K4 Philippines Intercessors Movement.

He said the speech that his “gifted speechwriters” had drafted was “inadequate.”

However, Valte said Aquino “hasn’t mentioned anything to that effect.”

“The President is usually very honest and frank when it comes to this matter; and normally if there is something that we did that has to be improved or that cannot be done, he tells us immediately,” she said. “So, we never got to have something like that - a hint or anything.” 

Valte said they always want to do better.

“At least for us that is always of the norm,” she said. “We are always looking out to improve strategies. There is always room for improvement as far as we are concerned.”

Valte refused to say that they are doing well.

“That would be self-serving for me to conclude, but at least, as far as I can say, is that the President has not made known any displeasure in the past week,” she said.

Last week, Aquino said he would sometimes ask if his communication strategy has been effective enough to be understood by the people.

“So, since waking up and on the way here, I have been drafting a speech,” he said.

“So it will tend to be disorganized and I apologize in advance. And, of course, somehow I may have had the impression that I would be talking primarily to Filipinos, it turns out that there are delegations from about 20 different countries present today – 60 plus countries. So that means I had to rewrite the speech that I was drafting because it was in Filipino,” he said. “So again if there are errors, they are solely mine.”

Aquino’s speechwriters are directly under the supervision of former ABS-CBN News Channel news anchor Ricky Carandang, who heads the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office, with Cabinet rank.

Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office handles the entire state media (PTV-4, Philippine Information Agency, radio dzRB).

He is the equivalent of the press secretary of the past administrations.