Malacañang staffer files charges vs 3 PCOO execs at Ombudsman

A staffer at the Presidential Communications Operations Office’s (PCOO) News and Information Bureau (NIB) has filed cases of grave abuse of authority, oppression and neglect of duty against three PCOO executives with the Office of the Ombudsman, over the alleged arbitrary transfer of some Media Accreditation and Relations Office (Maro) employees.

The Maro is an office under the PCOO in charge of dealing with media and coordinating media coverage of all the President’s events and activities.

Perpetual ban

In a complaint-affidavit submitted July 3, Lucrecia Luz Roque asked the Ombudsman to perpetually ban from government service PCOO Undersecretary for Maro Feducia Mia Reyes-Lucas, PCOO Assistant Secretary for Content and Messaging Rachel Queenie Rodolfo and NIB Acting Chief Virginia Arcilla-Agtay.

Luz Roque said the three respondents repeatedly blocked her attempts to return to Maro and instead hired job orders.

Amateurs

“We were experts but the presidential media coverages were left to be handled by amateurs, [a] waste of taxpayers money,” the complaint said.

In her six-page complaint, Luz Roque said that in December 2010, during the term of then President Benigno Aquino III, she and six other Maro employees were removed “without any valid reason at all.”

Also removed were Ernesto David, Francisco De Leon, Osias Osorio, Lorina Delos Reyes, Juanita Castillo and Elma Reyes-Perdiz.

In her complaint, Luz Roque blamed personal vendetta that former PCOO Assistant Secretary Renato Marfil held against her for their removal.