Federalism info drive budget never under PCOO

PCOO Assistant Secretary for Operations and Legislative Affairs Marie Rafael made this clarification after she, in a hearing at the House of Representatives last week, bared that the federalism information campaign was not included in her agency’s proposed budget worth PHP1.679 billion. (File Photo: Marie Rafael/Facebook)

MANILA — The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) clarified that funding for the Duterte administration’s federalism information campaign was never included in its budget.

PCOO Assistant Secretary for Operations and Legislative Affairs Marie Rafael made this clarification after she, in a hearing at the House of Representatives last week, bared that the federalism information campaign was not included in her agency’s proposed budget worth PHP1.679 billion.

Rafael said that this has always been the case since there is already an existing Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Federalism and Constitutional Reform leading the federalism information campaign, with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) as lead agency.

“From the start, the PCOO has always taken its cue from the DILG and the IATF. The budget for the communications campaign for federalism was never lodged in the annual budget of the PCOO,” Rafael said in a statement on Sunday.

President Rodrigo R. Duterte issued Memorandum Circular 52 s. 2018 creating the task force last October 31, 2018.

Under the task force, the DILG Secretary is chairperson, Justice Secretary is vice chairperson and the PCOO Secretary is just one of the task force’s members.

She said the PCOO received PHP10 million from the DILG in August 2018 to effectively carry out the task of implementing the communications plan.

“As a member of the IATF and in fulfillment of its mandate to serve as the premier arm of the Executive in involving the citizenry and mass media, the PCOO was tasked to implement the communications plan prepared by the IATF,” she added.

Rafael, however, reassured that her agency remains supportive of the IATF and will continue to carry out its function of informing the public on “matters of national importance.”

Last month, Malacañang said the President is still keeping federalism on his agenda but it is up to Congress to propose what method should be used in amending the Constitution.

Presidential Legislative Liaison Office (PLLO) chief Adelino Sitoy bared that federalism was not discussed during the pre-Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council (Ledac) meeting last August 5.

In 2018, Duterte formed a Consultative Committee (ConCom), a panel of experts to review the 1987 Constitution, which completed a proposed “Bayanihan” Federal Constitution in 2018.

Among the ConCom’s federal charter’s provisions include a ban on political dynasties and political turncoatism; a ban on monopolies and oligopolies that lessen competition; additional powers for the Ombudsman and Commission on Audit among others; the inclusion of socio-economic rights in the Bill of Rights; and the establishment of a permanent and indissoluble nation.

Also, under the draft charter, there are 18 federated regions composed of 16 symmetrical regions — existing regions plus Negrosanon Federated Region and two asymmetrical regions — Bangsamoro and Cordillera. Bangsamoro and Cordillera have different designs from other regions because of their “identity-based demands.”