Press Secretary Trixie Cruz-Angeles has clarified that outgoing Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) chair Liza Diño was replaced by veteran actor Tirso Cruz III not because of the memorandum circular 1 (MC 1) of the Marcos Administration.
President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. actually "exercised his power to remove the current chair and appoint a new one," Angeles said on Thursday, July 7.
It came as a clarification on Angeles' statement in a press briefing on July 6, saying that Diño, who was reappointed by former president Duterte as the national film's head on March 2022, was replaced under MC 1, which declared certain positions in the Executive Department vacant.
"Under RA 9167 the chairman and CEO (chief executive officer) has a term of three years, unless removed by the president," Angeles said, saying that she clarified this with Diño.
"Ms. Diño was reappointed by President Duterte and was serving a second term when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. exercised his power to remove the current chair and appoint a new one," she added.
Diño was appointed by Duterte in 2016. Her three-year term was then extended to 2021. Her reappointment in March 2022 would have extended her term anew until 2025.
Angeles, however, said that while Cruz's documents are being processed, "Diño remains in a holdover capacity."
Cruz was sworn in by Marcos on Tuesday, July 5.
The FDCP is the national film agency under the Office of the President responsible for film policies and programs to ensure the economic, cultural, and educational development of the Philippine film industry.