Panelo says he’ll be sole spokesman of Duterte

Atty. Salvador Panelo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

Lawyer Salvador Panelo on Thursday said that he will be both spokesman and press secretary of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte, going against the current administration’s practice of having three spokespersons.

Panelo, in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM, said he will meet with Communications Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma Jr. on Friday to learn more about the structure of the Malacañang press office.

He pointed out that the communications office of Malacañang now has three clusters.

“May problema ka dun ‘pag tatlo spokesman mo tapos iba-iba sinasabi. Magkakagulo kayo, magsisisihan kayo. Kailangan isa lang,” he said.

(There will be problems if you have three spokespersons who say different things. There will be conflict and you will just blame each other. You need only one.)

Currently, there are three people sharing the daily press briefings in Malacañang — Coloma, Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda, and Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Abigail Valte. Each has an assigned day of briefing. Valte, who went on leave, was later replaced by Undersecretary Manolo Quezon.

“Ang isang tinig ay manggagaling sa isang tao lamang na kumakatawan sa president (A singular voice will come from just one person who represents the President). The presidential spokesman and press secretary will be the voice and the face of the Duterte presidency,” Panelo said.

He said the rules of his office will be based on the principles and rules of Duterte.

“We will be transparent,” he said.

Panelo said that 10 years ago, he started calling for a Duterte presidency.

He said he felt that the country needed a constitutional dictator who would work within the bounds of the law but will be given enough power to do everything that needed to be done.

“(Bigyan natin ng) lahat ng kailangan na kapangyarihan bibigay natin para wala na s’yang excuse to fail,” he recalled. “Sinabi ko rin na buwagin natin ang kongreso kasi di natin kailangan ito at malaki ang masa-save natin dito sa aspeto ng ating lipunan ng pangangailangan.”

(Let us give him all the needed powers so he will not have an excuse to fail. I also said at that time that Congress should be abolished because we do not need it and we can save a lot of money, which can be used for other needs.)

He said Duterte asked him to stop but he said he should be allowed to speak out his mind.

Panelo said Duterte was suited for the job, especially since Filipinos are stubborn and see the law as something “optional.” “They can get away with it,” he added, referring to people who are rich and with connections.

When Duterte won, he was offered the position of presidential spokesperson.

“Sa totoo lang ayaw kong tanggapin. Sabi ko sa kanya mukhang gagawin mo akong pulubi dito eh ang ganda ganda ng practice ko,” Panelo said.

(To be honest, I didn’t want to accept it. I told him that he would make me a beggar when my law practice is flourishing.)

But he said he couldn’t turn it down because he was one of those responsible for convincing Duterte to run.

He said the tough-talking mayor first considered him to become the secretary of justice or chief presidential legal counsel but Duterte said he needed Panelo to be his spokesman “because he expresses the thoughts that I have, that I have no time to express.”

Panelo described Duterte as a “one-liner guy” who will need someone to help him explain his plans and to translate his thought processes.

The lawyer said he and Duterte had the same attitude and political views since they were both activists.

Panelo’s imminent appointment is considered a controversial move by Duterte. Among Panelo’s high-profile clients was Andal Ampatuan Jr., a suspect in the infamous Ampatuan massacre.

The National Union of Journalist of the Philippines (NUJP) on Thursday released a story saying Panelo’s appointment “is not right.”

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The group quoted a relative of one of the Ampatuan massacre victims who feared that the case will be further delayed or will no longer prosper.

READ: Ex-Ampatuan lawyer’s role protested

“While it is on record that Panelo withdrew as counsel for Andal Ampatuan Jr. in early December last year, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines expresses serious misgivings about his potential appointment as presidential spokesman and its possible implications on the trial of those accused of what is acknowledged as the single deadliest attack on the press in history and one of the worst incidents of electoral violence in the country,” NUJP said. IDL/rga