No April Fools appointment for Tiglao as press secretary

You can’t fool him for sure!

Incoming Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Rigoberto Tiglao has asked President Arroyo to delay the effectivity of his appointment for just one day so it will not be made today, which is April Fools’ Day.

April Fools’ Day in Western tradition is when practical jokes are played on the unwary. Not wanting to be a victim or the butt of practical jokes on that day, Tiglao told The STAR his appointment as concurrent Press Secretary to replace Noel Cabrera has not been issued yet by the President, upon his request.

Cabrera’s resignation took effect yesterday, March 31, to assume a new post as board chairman and chief executive officer of the Cocolife Insurance Corp., one of the sequestered subsidiary companies of the Coconut Industry Investment Fund.

Cabrera told The STAR he plans to do the formal turnover of office to Tiglao this Friday, April 5.

"We’re just tying up some loose ends," Cabrera said.

In a separate telephone interview with The STAR yesterday, Tiglao disclosed he had been sitting down for the past two weeks with the various heads of the agencies under the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) as part of the transition process.

Tiglao said he had been looking at the OPS reorganization studies done by former Press Secretary and Presidential Spokesman Ricardo Puno which the latter failed to institute after former President Joseph Estrada was ousted from office during the EDSA 2 people power revolution.

"The OPS is basically divided into two functions – one huge tri-media organization and one big public relations machinery," Tiglao pointed out.

"I want to minimize the duplication of work among the (OPS) bureaus and give them clear tasks," Tiglao said.

Offhand, he said, his priority is "to strengthen" the Presidential News Desk (PND) which churns out everyday the official press releases of the activities and workings of the presidency.

"I want to turn it (PND) into a real newspaper desk manned by professionals," he pointed out.

However, he noted the pay is too "low" compared to that in private media companies to entice the high-caliber professionals he wants to man the PND.

Tiglao said he also intends to strengthen the Philippine Information Agency (PIA), at present headed by Presidential Management Staff Secretary Silvestre Afable as officer-in-charge.

He likened the PIA to a "mini-OPS" because of its regional offices spread throughout the country.

Other than these improvements, Tiglao said, he has no immediate plans to disturb the existing set-up at the OPS where he is assisted by three press undersecretaries – Manuel Sanchez, Roberto Capco and Carmen "Ching" Suva.

Tiglao, who is turning 50 this August, has a 19-year experience as a journalist.

President Arroyo always speaks highly of Tiglao, especially for being one of her elite Harvard-educated Cabinet members.

Tiglao was a Nieman Foundation Fellow for Journalism at Harvard from 1988-89. Since its establishment in 1937, there have been only 11 Filipinos so far awarded this fellowship.

Meanwhile, President Arroyo clarified there is no overlapping functions between Tiglao and Conrado Limcaoco, her newly appointed Presidential Assistant for Ecclesiastical and Media Affairs.

President Arroyo said Limcaoco’s involvement in media affairs will concern only party-related matters because Limcaoco is still the official spokesman of her administration’s People Power Coalition. — Marichu Villanueva