MANILA, Philippines?As the saying goes, two heads are better than one. So, in the Palace of change, do three legs beat two heads?

Called the Communications Group, the much-ballyhooed, three-legged creature in Malacañang aims to modernize and take the place of the old Office of the Press Secretary. It will have a total of three officials, each holding a Cabinet rank.

Poised to enjoy the distinction of holding the title of Cabinet secretary while managing one office are former broadcaster Ricky Carandang, former columnist Herminio ?Sonny? Coloma, and presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, a lawyer.

Another key personality in the group, former Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Manolo Quezon III, is expected to serve as Carandang?s undersecretary.

Two functions

That was how Carandang yesterday outlined the emerging structure of the Communications Group, whose establishment would be made formal after President Benigno Aquino III issued this week an executive order creating a truth commission, a separate body whose job will be to investigate the alleged sins of the Arroyo administration.

Carandang described the group as ?an organization with three legs.?

While Lacierda would be part of the group, Carandang said the group would have two functions, one handling the crafting of messages for the President and the other, taking charge of operations.

?We felt it would be more efficient if we have one focusing on messaging and one group focusing on managing those bureaucracies,? Carandang told reporters.

Nothing unusual

Sought for comment, Coloma said having three Cabinet-rank officials in one agency was ?not unusual.?

He pointed to the time when former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had a press secretary, a spokesperson, and a communications director, all ranked as Cabinet secretaries.

?So there is precedence on key persons holding a Cabinet rank in the same group,? he told the Inquirer.

Carandang said he and Coloma would call the shots at the group.

Carandang will be in charge of a ?relatively small? department focused on crafting messages for Mr. Aquino. Coloma will handle operations, including supervision of government stations.

Facebook and Twitter

?Basically, we will be communicating for the President. Sonny?s department will be bigger,? Carandang said.

Coloma?s department will also involve an ?interactive portion and feedback mechanism? using social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter.

?[The President] really wants the feedback to come from different quarters unfiltered,? Carandang said.

?Let?s figure out a way to organize [the system] so that we get the feedback and we are able to respond ? When people talk to us, they expect us to respond, so it?s going to be a kind of a conversation.?

So far, Carandang said the plan was to prepare two separate budget proposals for both departments of the Communications Group during the deliberations of Congress later this year.