Sotto wants PCOO reverted to Office of Press Secretary

“Lately, the ‘perspective’ of some members of the Senate is we have completely digressed from the original content of the creation of the Office of the Press Secretary. And it is no longer in the landscape of the administration,” Sotto said. (File photo: PNA/ Avito C. Dalan)

MANILA – Senate President Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Wednesday said he is looking into the possibility of reverting Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) back to the Office of the Press Secretary.

“This is the best time to study — while studying your budget — to review and study the possibility of reverting back into the Office of the Press Secretary,” Sotto said during PCOO’s budget hearing at the Senate.

“We can streamline that and use your current budget and if necessary, we can infuse your budget for that to be more effective and we can propose into GAA (General Appropriations Act),” he added.

Sotto explained that some members of the Senate are considering this move noting that the PCOO was only created to “accommodate political friends of the previous administration.”

“Lately, the ‘perspective’ of some members of the Senate is we have completely digressed from the original content of the creation of the Office of the Press Secretary. And it is no longer in the landscape of the administration,” Sotto said.

In an interview with reporters, Sotto said he brought his proposal to Duterte who has expressed support for it.

During the term of former President Benigno Aquino III, the OPS was split into the PCOO and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office.

Duterte abolished the PCDSPO and transferred its functions to the PCOO.

PCOO is currently headed by Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.