MANILA, Philippines — Former TV host Daphne Oseña-Paez began serving Tuesday in Malacañang as its “press briefer” who will relay news and information about the activities and programs of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“She’s not new to the industry because she has been a reporter who was also assigned to cover Malacañang,” Office of the Press Secretary officer-in-charge Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil said in Filipino of Oseña-Paez’ appointment.
It is not clear what Oseña-Paez’ exact designation is. Asked whether she should be called an undersecretary or an assistant secretary, she replied: “You can just call me Daphne.”
“My role here is to amplify and communicate the message of President Marcos and the Cabinet and the government. And you are my partners in this,” she told reporters on her first day in her position.
She also made it clear that she is not speaking for Marcos, whom she said “will speak for himself” as she is “just here to support the Office of the Press Secretary for now.”
Oseña-Paez acknowledged her past as a reporter, saying “this is no longer new to me.” She later said that she only reported on Malacañang for six months.
“Since I will be the one who will be regularly your source of updates from the Palace, I look forward to working with all of you, of course, in a harmonious and collegial manner because I’m also one of you,” she said.
“I’m very honored to be communicating the message and programs of this administration, of course, in an accurate and effective way and I will do my best.”
According to a 2021 feature story by The STAR, Oseña-Paez first started as a reporter and newscaster on ABS-CBN and Studio 23 for two years beginning in 1997. Following this, she began hosting lifestyle and magazine show F that aired for seven years on the same networks.
Oseña-Paez then hosted other lifestyle shows including Urban Zone on ABS-CBN, which she “conceptualized, wrote and created,” and Cignal TV’s Recreate.
During the 2022 presidential campaign, Oseña-Paez caught the attention of social media users when she posted a photo of her wearing a red blazer embroidered with the Philippine flag along with a caption echoing Marcos’ campaign slogan: Sama-sama tayong babangon muli.
A 2009 column by Tanya T. Lara said Oseña-Paez’ father was the pilot of the president’s father and namesake. Her father was assigned as a diplomat to Canada in the early 1980s, but his papers were “lost” following the People Power Revolution.
“My father was not allowed to come back because he was a senior military official. It was just sad and strange that he was on the wanted list — and he was simply a pilot and a diplomat when all this heaviness happened,” Oseña-Paez was quoted as saying.
“As a teenager it made me confused. I rejected the Philippines altogether; I didn’t have Filipino friends in Canada. But in my adult life, I ended up coming back here — and I was the only one of all my siblings who married a Filipino.”