Rappler's latest stories on Presidential Communications Operations Office
PCOO limits cross-posting content on its social media platforms
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar issues the order two days after the PCOO got flak for reposting the government anti-communist task force's 'black propaganda' against ABS-CBN and Rappler CEO Maria Ressa

[OPINION] PCOO blocks Gang Badoy on Twitter – that’s unconstitutional
Just like in the United States, the Philippine government’s act of blocking citizens from its social media accounts violate fundamental rights

PCOO offers gov't TV, radio stations to deliver lessons – Briones
Education Secretary Leonor Briones says that distance learning is a major component of learning delivery for the incoming school year

Rights groups blast Andanar's 'perilous' attempts to 'mislead' U.N. council
'Secretary Andanar again performed a show abundant in spins, slants, and distractions,' says National Union of Peoples' Lawyers president Edre Olalia

PCOO meeting with Reporters Without Borders not so 'fruitful' after all?
Daniel Bastard, Reporters Without Borders Asia Pacific desk head, recalls telling Communications Secretary Martin Andanar that they can agree to disagree

Gordon tells PCOO: Focus on issues, not on Duterte's personality
The PCOO would better serve Filipinos if its content presented 'all sides' and is not just oriented to making President Rodrigo Duterte look good, says Senator Richard Gordon

Progressive lawmakers slam PNA, PCOO for 'vilification,' 'red-tagging'
The PCOO, part of a national task force to 'end local communist armed conflict,' denies red-tagging progressive groups

PH asks EU, Belgium to stop funding alleged CPP-NPA 'fronts'
Philippine officials want EU and Belgium to stop funding the Rural Missionaries of the Philppines, Ibon Foundation, Karapatan, and other groups saying the funds are only prolonging the communist insurgency

Senators question use of PCOO caravan in Europe to explain Maria Ressa arrest
(UPDATED) PCOO officials are traveling to Brussels, Bosnia, and Switzerland to talk about Maria Ressa's arrest, but senators ask why taxpayers' money should be spent on this 'caravan'

PCOO officer, wife mauled in Baguio
Ramon Songayab reports to Baguio City police that he and his wife were attacked by several men last December 22

PCOO sets up Global Media Affairs Office to respond to foreign media
Former TV5 reporter JV Arcena is picked to head the new office, envisioned to become a 'press attaché division' once an executive order reverting the PCOO to the Office of the Press Secretary is signed

Mocha Uson's blogger accreditation policy? 'Wala na 'yun,' says Andanar
PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar says the policy was never implemented to begin with

Mocha Uson’s resignation long overdue 'but whiff of fresh air' – lawmakers
(UPDATED) 'Government service, while it is about trust, it is also about accountability. And that is what is sorely lacking from her,' says Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate

Sotto seeks revival of Office of Press Secretary to replace PCOO
Senate President Vicente Sotto III says he and other senators have questioned the effectiveness of the PCOO, amid the many controversies it has had to face under the Duterte administration

PCOO Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson resigns
(4th UPDATE) Communications Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson announces her resignation during the Presidential Communications Operations Office budget hearing at the Senate

Mocha Uson’s absence defers House debates on PCOO’s 2019 budget
A peeved Deputy Speaker Prospero Pichay Jr confronts presidential communications officials about the controversial assistant secretary's absence

Nene Pimentel says Mocha Uson should stick to entertainment
The longtime federalism advocate says Uson's video of a lewd federalism jingle was a waste of time for an official being paid taxpayers' money

Malacañang won't object if Ombudsman dismisses Mocha Uson
But asked if President Rodrigo Duterte himself will fire the communications assistant secretary even before the Ombudsman's decision, Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque says, 'As of now, no'

De La Salle-CSB urges gov't: Remove Mocha Uson for mocking deaf community
(UPDATED) 'We call on the government to take action against Mr Olivar and Asec Uson, and impose appropriate penalties as provided by law,' says De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde president Brother Dennis Magbanua

Zarate reminds Andanar: Mocha Uson paid with public funds
Bayan Muna Representative Carlos Zarate finds it strange that Uson is not held accountable for her actions, yet other government officials get fired or are forced to resign for alleged offenses

Duterte says 'overboard' Mocha Uson still has right to free speech
'There are things na tingin ko na medyo nasobrahan,' says President Rodrigo Duterte about controversial assistant secretary Mocha Uson

PCOO tells officials, employees: 'Be mindful' of social media posts
Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy issues the memo to all Presidential Communications Operations Office personnel over a week after the controversial federalism video of fellow official Mocha Uson

Andanar silent on call for Mocha Uson to go on leave
Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson is still 'welcome' to help promote federalism, says Communications Secretary Martin Andanar

Is Mocha Uson above reprimand?
Unable or unwilling to respond directly to calls from the public to hold Uson accountable for her 'vulgar' video about federalism, Malacañang instead challenges critics to file a complaint against the official

Zero budget for PCOO? 'Huwag naman po,' says Roque
'PCOO...is providing an indispensable role,' Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque says in defense of the government agency

'Remove PCOO budget, use it for what Filipinos need'
Akbayan Representative Tom Villarin says Assistant Secretary Mocha Uson's federalism video is 'not the first time that the PCOO made a fool of itself'

PCOO expenses up by 700%: Spending increased in travels, rentals, internet
The PCOO spends P1.3 billion in operating expenses in 2017, compared to P157 million the year before. The increases are mainly in rental and leasing, and travels of PCOO officials for ASEAN events and presidential activities.

#ThewRap: Things you need to know, July 20, 2018
Here are the stories you shouldn't miss this Friday

COA flags anomalies in PCOO procurement for ASEAN events
The PCOO awards ASEAN contracts to suppliers that went beyond the allocated budget and wastes P2.5 million by not awarding contracts to the lowest bidders, says the COA in its audit report

Deleted articles? Official Gazette says entire website down
The Official Gazette denies it ever deleted content posted by previous administrations, saying articles are not accessible because the entire website remains down

COA questions DILG's last-minute P99-million fund transfer
The Commission on Audit expresses concern that the Department of the Interior and Local Government may have intended to avoid returning unspent funds to the national treasury

[OPINION] Duterte Year 2 and blunders galore on social media
The administration's social media blunders are worth calling out because they are symptoms of a much bigger problem that's persistent in the other aspects of Duterte's presidency

Who's 'Winston' Gatchalian? PCOO makes another online blunder
Senator Sherwin Gatchalian points out the mistake himself

After 'Norwegia' gaffe, Roque hopes PCOO can boost spell-checking
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque assures the public that the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) will 'again' learn from its mistakes

Netizens ask PCOO: Who is 'Rogelio' Golez? Is he from 'Norwegia'?
The Presidential Communications Operations Office draws flak yet again for using the wrong name for the late National Security Adviser Jose Roilo Golez in its media releases

Genovia and Wakanda, meet Norwegia: Netizens react to latest PCOO flub
PCOO Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy dismisses the gaffe as a typo

Trillanes seeks probe into PCOO's 'anomalous' P647-M ASEAN info caravan
Opposition senator Antonio Trillanes IV says there is an 'immediate need to look into the alleged irregularities' in the Presidential Communication Operations Office's disbursement of funds

Gov't building P700-M state media hub in Davao City
The Mindanao Media Hub – aimed for operation by January 2019 – is envisioned to boost the government’s broadcast signal in Mindanao 'while tailoring content specific to the people in the region'

Malacañang on PES official, PCOO on Facebook fact-checking, Comey on Trump | Evening wRap
Watch Rappler's evening newscast with Bea Cupin

PCOO protests Facebook partnership with Rappler, Vera Files
Malacañang, meanwhile, 'commiserates' with Duterte supporters who have slammed the social media platform's tie-up with the news organizations

It wasn't me: Andanar blames staff for wrong grammar in Malacañang media ID
Palace Communications Secretary Martin Andanar says he has ordered a probe into the supposed breach of protocol

FAST FACTS: What's in the PCOO budget?
PCOO's funds in the national budget include those for attached agencies such as the Philippine Information Agency, RTVM, and the National Printing Office

#ThewRap: Videos you need to watch this week, January 29-February 3, 2018
Must-watch videos this week

Test for Andanar: Can he stop fake news, hate speech from pro-Duterte accounts?
PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar has promised to talk to the 'communications core group' of President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign in order to reach rabid pro-Duterte bloggers

Is it official gov't line to say VP Robredo is purveyor of fake news?
(UPDATED) PCOO Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy tells senators it's just her opinion, but she is told public officials like her are expected to be more responsible with their speech

Pacquiao confronts Lorraine Badoy for spreading fake news vs him
Communications Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy apologizes to Senator Manny Pacquiao for her malicious post against him during the 2016 polls, and tells him that she too has been on the 'receiving end of lies and inaccuracies'

PCOO warned vs getting info dissemination training from China, Russia
'I think falling into this kind of pattern using different disinformation tactics could work against us as a nation,' Rappler CEO Maria Ressa says during a Senate hearing

Excessive or not? Martin Andanar's 10 trips abroad
President Rodrigo Duterte has fired another official for making fewer foreign trips than Communications Secretary Martin Andanar. Does Duterte's rule on limiting travels abroad apply to him?

Roque says reduction in PCOO personnel, not tiff with Andanar, caused transcript delay
The contracts of some PCOO personnel, including those belonging to a transcribing division, are not renewed this year because the country is no longer the host of ASEAN

2017: A year's worth of the administration's online faux pas
This year has been filled with cringe-worthy moments online for government agencies and officials
