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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider 'People have misunderstood': Marcos defends appointments of Cascolan, Soriano

'People have misunderstood': Marcos defends appointments of Cascolan, Soriano

Published Oct 26, 2022 11:35 am

President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. has clarified the appointment of former top cop Camilo Cascolan as an undersecretary at the Department of Health (DOH) and director Paul Soriano as his adviser on creative communications.

File photos of Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications Paul Soriano, President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr., and Health Undersecretary Camilo Cascolan.

In an interview with reporters, Marcos said he appointed the former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief as an undersecretary at the DOH to look into the agency's functions.

"It's not health issues that he (Cascolan) has to look at that's why he doesn't have to be a doctor," he said on Wednesday, October 26.

"He's going to look at the function of the DOH. We talked about rightsizing; we talked about structural changes," he added.

"We need somebody to examine what has been going on. Ano yung maganda, ano yung hindi maganda, ano yung pwedeng mas maayos (What's good, what's not, and what could be improved). That will be his function, 'Special Concerns,'" he continued.

President Marcos said part of Cascolan's job is to trace possible syndicates in the DOH, particularly those that could have been involved in previous anomalous procurements during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"That's part of his work. Kung may lumabas na ganyan (If he finds something like that), then he has to report it to us and we will have to do something about it," he explained.

Meanwhile, Marcos explained another controversial appointment of his -- Paul Soriano, a nephew of his wife, as Presidential Adviser on Creative Communications.

According to the President, people have misunderstood Soriano's role in his administration.

"People have misunderstood. He's not there to be part of the PR (public relations) machine," Marcos said.

"He's there to find ways to promote the creative industry. Kasi doon siya galing, eh (He's from that industry)," he added.

President Marcos said Soriano's job was to showcase Filipino talent to the world.

"Kasama 'yan sa tourism. Pinagmamalaki natin ang gagaling kumanta ng Filipino, ang gagaling umarte, ang gagaling gumawa ng sine, etc., etc (That's part of tourism. We've been bragging about how Filipinos are good at singing, acting, and the movies). We have to project that to the rest of the world," he said.

:'Yan ang trabaho ni Paul (That's Paul's job). So, I hope that clarifies that," he added.

Early this month, Soriano disclosed to ABS-CBN News that he was being eyed as the new press secretary following the resignation of lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles from the said post due to health reasons.

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