The House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday suspended the 2021 budget hearing of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) amid concerns of red-tagging by some officials of the agency.
ACT Teachers Party-list Rep. France Castro presented in the meeting some Facebook posts which claim that they are members of terrorist groups.
“Can you imagine that Mr. Chair? Kami raw ang nag-uutos sa mga NPA na gumawa ng opensiba nila. Isang malaking akusasayon ‘yan (We are said to have been ordering the NPA to do their offensives. That’s a big accusation). She cannot deny that,” Bayan Muna Party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate stated.
The legislators were referring to PCOO USec. Lorraine Badoy whose resignation is being sought by solons in the Makabayan Bloc.
Badoy insisted that she will not resign and claimed that her allegations in social media have basis. She added that it is not fair for the Makabayan Bloc to target the PCOO fund.
“There’s no way on heaven and earth that I’m going to take down a post… Me, resign? Maybe they should resign,” Badoy asserted.
PCOO Sec. Martin Andanar pointed out that it is Badoy’s “own post on her page and that should not affect the rest of [the] PCOO budget,” especially now that the country is facing a pandemic where information dissemination is crucial.
Andanar also guaranteed the strengthening of programs of the PCOO and other agencies under it now that the country needs the right information amid a health crisis.
– Report from Daniel Manalastas
