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Hello, Palace? OPS attention called over P5-M phone bill


Is the Office of the Press Secretary (OPS) communicating too much? The cellular phone bill of the OPS ballooned by more than 300 percent to P5.53 million in 2008 from P1.28 million in 2007, according to a report by the Commission on Audit (COA). The COA attributed the “excessive" expenditure to the office’s “weak control over the use of cellular phones," which was a “violation" of the OPS 2003 guidelines that set the ceiling on expenses for communication through mobile phones. The OPS is under the Office of the President. It says its “greater role is to develop people's understanding of government policies and programs as well as enhance public support and trust for such." Cellphones for non-OPS execs Twenty-four percent or P1.3 million of the P5.53 million bill was spent for cellular phones issued to government officials who belonged not to the OPS, but to other departments or agencies, the COA found out. It added that the same officials might have already been “issued mobiles phones by their respective offices." “Cellular phone charges of several users far exceeded the monthly ceiling of service plans/charges allowed in OPS Order # 015 Series 2003, requiring among others, the limitation on the use of cellular phones to the monthly plan set under the said OPS Order, whichever is higher," the COA said. The guidelines provided the following among others:

  • Issuance of more than one cellular phone per official shall be determined by the Press Secretary
  • Use of post-paid cellular phones shall as much as possible, be limited to the amount of the plan or the ceiling set forth, whichever is higher;
  • Any amount in excess of the ceiling shall be charged against the user, unless calls made are justified and approved by the undersigned (Press Secretary);
  • Pre-paid cellular phone holders shall be entitled to P500 worth of pre-paid cards every month;
  • MROs (media relations officer) and in-house writers who should request for prepaid cards whenever on field assignment shall be entitled to prepaid cards in the amount of P300 per coverage

But it wasn’t only the bill for mobile phones that skyrocketed in a year’s time. The COA also found out that OPS expenses for postage deliveries increased by 15,575 percent in 2008 to P1.25 million from P8,009 in 2007; local travels by 860 percent to P39.22 million from P4.08 million; and representation by 118 percent to P23.63 million from P10.72 million. Not really big Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, who was not yet the head of the OPS when the expenses were incurred, said the office had already explained to COA the sudden increase in communication payments. He said Congress had also looked into the matter during budget deliberations. “Kung titingnan daw talaga natin, yung P5 million na cellular phone bill over a period of one year for an information and communications office like the OPS is not really big. Yung mga long distance calls…mga interviews, it really racked up costs," said Remonde in a recent interview with reporters. “Under my watch, we are not going to waste the funds of the OPS," he added. Remonde took the OPS post in February 2009, replacing Jesus Dureza who was press secretary starting May 2008. Ignacio Bunye, Dureza’s predecessor, held the post in 2004 replacing Hernani Braganza who was appointed press secretary in 2003. Before Braganza, Bunye was both press secretary and spokesperson of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. Bunye succeeded Rigoberto Tiglao, the first press secretary of the administration. - GMANews Research, GMA News, and GMANews.TV
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