Return of the OPS
Six years after it was unceremoniously abolished and a new one was put in place, the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) is making a comeback soon under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte. The OPS would be resurrected on the recommendation of Secretary Martin Andanar who is currently the head of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).
The PCO reorganized the OPS and was renamed under Executive Order (EO) 4 that was signed on July 30, 2010 by former president Benigno “Noy” Aquino III. By virtue of EO 4, new sub-offices were also created in addition to existing OPS-attached agencies.
The following government agencies were placed under PCO, namely: News and Information Bureau (NIB); Philippines News Agency (PNA); Philippine Information Agency (PIA); Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC); People’s Television Network (PTV-4); Philippine Broadcasting Service-Bureau of Broadcast Services ( Radyo ng Bayan) PBS; Radio- Television Malacañang Bureau of Communications Services (BCS); National Printing Office (NPO); APO Production Unit; OP Web Development Office (commonly referred to as the President’s New Media Team); and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO).
More than five months into office now, Andanar disclosed he is ready to submit to President Duterte an EO to revert the PCO back to the OPS. Although recently confirmed as PCO Secretary, Andanar himself initiated this change at his office that would restore his Cabinet post to its original title as press secretary.
The OPS came into being a few months after the late president Corazon Aquino was swept into office as a result of the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution. The late veteran journalist Teodoro Benigno became the first press secretary to head the OPS. (Benigno later joined
The STAR as columnist a year after he resigned from the Aquino Cabinet.)
Andanar made the announcement during a “reunion” dinner of former press secretaries he hosted at the XO Bistro at the Conrad’s in Manila along D. Macapagal Avenue last Nov. 15. I had the honor to be invited to the “reunion” by special request of the former press secretaries, according to Andanar. I supposed this was because of the fact I have covered four presidents at Malacañang Palace whom each of them served during their respective terms. All of them obviously knew me as their common denominator.
Except for a few who were not able to attend it, among those present were (arranged from the most recent to the past decade) former PCOO Secretary Herminio Coloma, Crispulo “Jun” Icban Jr., Ignacio “Toting” Bunye, Mike Toledo, Adolfo Azcuna, Lourdes “Deedee” Siytangco and Francisco “Kit” Tatad.
A special prayer was made for the former press secretaries who passed away already.
They included Benigno, Jesus Sison, Cerge Remonde, and Rodolfo Reyes.
The 63-year-old Coloma credits himself as one of the original P-Noy Cabinet who survived his six-year term at the so-called “snake pit” at the Palace. Coloma stayed on from day one of P-Noy until the end of his term last June 30 this year and formally turned the PCO helm to Andanar. Coloma is now the executive vice president of The Manila Bulletin.
Icban, on the other hand, cited he had the “shortest stint” at the OPS during the nine-year watch of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He served the last five months into office of Mrs. Arroyo. The 81-year-old Icban, also the oldest among them, returned to his old post as editor-inchief of the Manila Bulletin after his brief OPS stint.
But Toledo claimed he had the shortest stint actually. The youngest of them all at 55 years old, recalled that former president Joseph Estrada appointed him shortly before the latter was ousted from office in January 2001. Toledo took over the OPS from former press secretary Ricardo “Dong” Puno who resigned earlier in order to run for the Senate in May 2001.
While it is true, Toledo, however, first served as press undersecretary of Puno in 1999. Puno incidentally is reportedly ill to attend the reunion. Toledo is currently the head of the media bureau of MVP Group of Companies.
Bunye served the longest during the Arroyo administration from 2002 up to 2008. During his six years office at the Palace, Bunye also served twice as “acting” executive secretary aside from his being concurrent presidential spokesman. After he resigned, Bunye was named by ex-president Arroyo to the monetary board.
Now 71 years old, Bunye writes a weekly column at The Manila Bulletin.
Taking note of those present at the dinner, Bunye remarked there was something common among four of them – Coloma, Icban, Siytangco and himself. They are all employees now of The Manila Bulletin.
Like Bunye, Azcuna was also multi-tasking during Mrs. Aquino’s six-year term – from being concurrent presidential spokesman, chief presidential legal counsel and at one time, also chairman of the Presidential Commission on Good Government. Retired from his previous stint as associate justice of the Supreme Court, 77-year-old Azcuna is the current chancellor of the Philippine Judicial Academy.
And the most senior of them all is Tatad from whose Ministry of Information during the martial law regime was the predecessor of the OPS. He served for 11 years in the Cabinet of ex-president Ferdinand Marcos until he resigned in 1980 to dramatize his objection to the late dictator’s refusal to lift martial law. Tatad run and won as senator after the EDSA-1 Revolution and served for two consecutive terms. Now 77 years old, Tatad currently writes political column at The Manila Times.
And of course, 76-year-old Siytangco who served as press undersecretary and later as official spokesperson of Mrs. Aquino after her term. She helped Andanar organized the dinner at her son-in-law’s restaurant where a huge portrait of President Duterte hangs at the function room.
Andanar’s fellow Cabinet member, Peace Process chief Jesus Dureza — who was also once the former press secretary of Mrs. Arroyo — could not make it due to a dental procedure.
Andanar called up Dureza and put on the speaker from a mobile phone and through it bantered with his fellow express secretaries. Dureza offered to host their next “reunion” and agreed to meet again in a dinner next time to be held at the Palace to celebrate the return of the OPS.
A special prayer was made for the former press secretaries who passed away already.