Incoming press secretary says he will remain low-key

MANILA, Philippines - Incoming Press Secretary Crispulo Icban Jr. said yesterday he would remain low-key in his first and sensitive government post but work hard to be the bridge between the public and the Arroyo administration.

Icban, who was Manila Bulletin editor-in-chief, said he would leave the matter of issuing statements to President Arroyo’s spokespersons led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, professor Gary Olivar, Secretary Ricardo Saludo, and deputy spokesperson Charito Planas.

He said he was more comfortable behind a news desk.

“I’m only on loan from the Bulletin,” Icban told Palace reporters after dropping by the office of Press Undersecretary Butch Junia in Malacañang.

“Five months, and then I will take my place among you once again,” he said.

Icban said Mrs. Arroyo had asked him to join her administration the day after the death of Press Secretary Cerge Remonde last Jan. 19.

He said he would take a leave of absence from his job to take on the government position.

Icban is expected to take his oath of office on Monday, after the nine-day mourning period for the late Cabinet member will have elapsed.

He told reporters that he would hold briefings only after Cabinet meetings on Tuesdays.

On other days, he said Ermita, Olivar, Planas, and Saludo, would take over.

Asked what he hopes to accomplish in five months, Icban said his job is to inform the public of the current administration’s accomplishments, with the media serving as conduit.

He acknowledged the fact that the President suffers from low popularity ratings, but history, he said, will make the final determination of her effectiveness as a leader.

Icban graduated in 1954 with a bachelor’s degree in English, magna cum laude, at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.

He was editor-in-chief of the Philippine Collegian, the university’s student paper.

Upon graduation, he joined The Manila Times as general assistant in the editorial department, then as reporter covering the Department of Foreign Affairs, and, finally, as editorial writer.

He was named news editor, a position he held until the Manila Times was closed down in 1972, following the declaration of martial law.

Two years later, Icban joined the Manila Bulletin as consultant to the publisher and later as news editor. He became editor-in-chief on Nov. 25, 2003.     – Paolo Romero