President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. has ordered the reorganization and renaming of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
In Executive Order (EO) No. 2 released to the public on Thursday, Marcos said the PCOO would be replaced by the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS).
The OPS will be headed by a press secretary. Trixie Cruz Angeles, Marcos Jr.’s PCOO chief-designate, will hold the post.
The OPS will have an assistant secretary and 20 other support staff to be designated by the press secretary and approved by Executive Secretary Vic Rodriguez.
The office will also have undersecretaries for the following areas:
- Operations, Plans and Policies
- Administration, Finance and Procurement
- Legal Affairs
- Media Accreditation and Relations
- Digital Media Services
- Print Media Services
- Broadcast Media Services
- Special Concerns
“All existing divisions and units of the PCOO shall be organized and reorganized under the areas of concern of the undersecretaries of the OPS. All redundant positions, divisions and units, as may be determined by the [Office of the President], shall be abolished,” the EO read.
The OPS was originally created in 1986 to handle the information and communications operations of the president’s office. The PCOO was created in 2010.
The EO also abolished the Office of the Presidential Spokesperson, placed the Ratio Television Malacañang under the Presidential Management Staff, and placed the Philippine Information Agency under the direct supervision of the Office of the President. John Ezekiel J. Hirro