CommGroup members Carandang, Coloma to get Cabinet rank

Two officials of the soon-to-be-formed Communications Group, or the restructured Office of the Press Secretary, will be sitting as Cabinet secretaries — a possibly unprecedented setup in Philippine history. Former broadcaster Ricky Carandang and former Transportation undersecretary Sonny Coloma will both get the rank of secretary as head of the group's messaging and media operations arms, respectively. In an interview with reporters, Carandang said as head of the messaging operations arm, he will help craft the messages of the president with the assistance of his deputy, political commentator Manuel L. Quezon III, who is poised to get the rank of undersecretary. Coloma, meanwhile, will set up the government's "feedback mechanism" and will be in charge of government-owned media agencies Philippine Information Agency, RPN 9, NBN 4, and IBC 13. Carandang, Coloma, and Quezon have been working in Malacañang for some time even though President Benigno Aquino III has yet to sign the executive order that will formalize their appointments. Carandang said they are hoping that the envisioned Cabinet rank for two officials in one department will not be rejected by the Commission on Appointments (CA). Asked whether the potential problem with the CA is the reason why the creation of the Communications Group is taking so long, Carandang said, "We wanted to consider all the questions that would be raised by Congress so that’s one of the things we’re considering." "We believe we have a legal opinion [that] we will both go before Congress and defend budget and we have confirmation. Some members of Congress may have a different opinion, so we just want to make sure that we can answer their questions," he said. The CA, composed of lawmakers from the House of Representatives and Senate, has yet to be organized as the 15th Congress only opened its session Monday. But Senator Gregorio Honasan, a former CA member, is already questioning the need to accord Cabinet ranks to two officials within one department. "Why would they need two secretaries?" he said. "To my mind, that might be overstepping a little." Honasan said assigning two secretaries in one department could burden an already "bloated bureaucracy." Carandang said the EO on the Communications Group may be signed within the week, less than a month before Malacañang submits to Congress the proposed 2011 budget for government departments and agencies. - KBK, GMANews.TV