PRESS Secretary-designate Rose Beatrix “Trixie” Cruz-Angeles on Friday vowed to prioritize the upgrade of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) and its attached agencies to make them “responsive” under her watch.

In an interview with UNTV’s Get it Straight, Cruz-Angeles said she would look for additional funds to improve the services of the incoming PCOO.

She will come up with “short-term, medium, and long-term” plan to ensure the efficient and effective delivery of information to the public.

“Lahat sila priority and I cannot ignore yung mga needs ng iba’t ibang attached agencies (All the attached agencies will be prioritized and I cannot ignore their needs),” Cruz-Angeles said. “Pondo ‘yung isa sa pinakamalaking konsiderasyon para ma-upgrade ‘yung (Funding is the biggest consideration to upgrade) government facilities for information dissemination.”

The PCOO’s attached agencies include the People’s Television Network (PTV-4), Inc., News and Information Bureau-Philippine News Agency, Philippine Information Agency, Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp., Radio Television Malacañanang, Bureau of Broadcast Services, Bureau of Communications Services, National Printing Office, and Apo Production Unit, Inc.

Cruz-Angeles expressed gratitude to the outgoing heads of the PCOO and its attached agencies for making the transition process “easy,” as well as for letting her know their shortcomings and the things that still need to be done.

In her first 100 days in office, Cruz-Angeles said she would conduct regular monitoring of the accomplishments of all agencies, bureaus, and offices under the PCOO.

She made the statement, to avoid public perception that the policies and programs that she will implement are a “waste of government resources.”

“Kahit ang daming trabaho (Even though you have so much work to be done) to go into that achievement, when you make an accounting to the public, mahirap (it’s difficult),” Cruz-Angeles said. “So, titignan ko talaga na may major achievements ang bawat ahensiya na nakakabit sa PCOO (I will see to it that each agency under PCOO has major achievements).”

Cruz-Angeles vowed to give the PCOO’s attached agencies “equal” treatment and the chance to pitch their ideas to improve their information and communications services.

“That’s what I want the PCOO to be responsive to what the people are saying out there,” she said. “Its delivery, responsiveness, we’d like to ratchet it up. So let’s see. We will also be learning in the first 100 days.”

Cruz-Angeles said she would exhaust all efforts to make the state-owned media such as the PTV-4 world-class.

“We have to try to do that. At least, let’s try, ‘di ba (right)? Hindi puwedeng sabihin natin (We can’t say), ‘Oh, it can’t be done,’ tapos hindi mo na gagawin (then you won’t do that). Subukan natin, gagawin natin (Let’s try and do that). If I fail, I fail. Pero (But) we have to try,” she said. Philippine News Agency