Only Abella speaks for Duterte

Philippine Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella and Presidential Communications Office chief Secretary Martin Andanar gestures. AP Photo

Malacañang on Thursday said President  Duterte had only one official spokesperson and Cabinet members should not be too quick to speak on his behalf.

Given the confusion generated by some of the President’s recent pronouncements, the Palace said Mr. Duterte’s alter egos—as Cabinet secretaries are described—should coordinate with the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) before making any statements in an attempt to clarify what the President really meant.

Communications Secretary Martin Andanar acknowledged the criticism the PCO had been receiving over the seeming lack of clarity in explaining Mr. Duterte’s statements, including the observation that too many people were speaking for him.

Andanar said there was only one presidential spokesperson and that was Secretary Ernesto Abella. He said he would step up to speak on Mr. Duterte’s behalf only when Abella is not available.

Appeal to Cabinet

“And so I appealed to the Cabinet secretaries to follow the standard operating procedure that was agreed upon from day one—July 1, 2016— that only Secretary Abella can speak on behalf of the President,” Andanar said in a press briefing.

He said Mr. Duterte agreed with his suggestion that questions seeking clarification of the President’s statements be first directed at the PCO.

“And it is only then that the Presidential Communications Office shall decide who among the secretaries or members of the Cabinet could comprehensively explain a presidential pronouncement that needs clarification,” he said.

“This is to avoid confusion,” he added.

In previous instances, Palace officials had to clarify statements made by Mr. Duterte and the explanations often only caused more confusion.

Two weeks ago, after Mr. Duterte said he was declaring a state of lawlessness or lawless violence in the wake of the bombing of the night market in Davao City, Palace officials issued conflicting statements on whether the declaration covered only Mindanao or the entire country.

More recently, besides the official spokesperson, some Cabinet members issued statements on what transpired between Mr. Duterte and Indonesian President Joko Widodo when the subject of Mary Jane Veloso, the Filipino woman on Indonesia’s death row, came up. Whether or not he gave Widodo the go-ahead to execute Veloso became the meat of controversy after several interpretations of what he really said came out.