Will Presidential Communications Secretary Martin Andanar run for senator in the 2022 elections?
Andanar recently declared that he would rather focus on his present job in the Cabinet rather than dwell on running for public office next year for now. The former broadcast journalist is rumored to seek an elective post next year but has yet to make a firm decision on the matter.
“Ako ay nakatutok lamang sa aking trabaho, alam niyo naman yan. Siguro kung ako’y lumahok sa pulitika, dapat ay nung 2019 pa (I am focused on my work, you know that. Maybe if I were to join politics, I would have done that in 2019)," Andanar said in a recent interview on DZRH.
With the final year of the Duterte administration, Andanar said he was committed on performing his duty on disseminating vital information not only the President's legacy achievements but also government's pandemic response and recovery efforts.
“Ang mahalaga kasi ngayon ay yung ating pagtutok sa problema natin sa pandemya at dito naman sa media ang pagtutok natin sa dissemination ng impormasyon tungkol sa Duterte legacy kasi ilang buwang na lang tapos na yung administrasyon ni Pangulong Duterte (What's important now is addressing the problems arising from the pandemic and disseminating information on the Duterte legacy since he only has a few months left in office],” he added.
Andanar, a former TV5 newsman, was appointed to head the PCOO back in 2016. He has supervision over government media entities, including People's Television and Philippine Information Agency. He has been credited for pursuing the modernization of the government's communication machinery but also faced some controversies including some blunders in the state news dissemination.