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No hired trolls at PCOO

September 16, 2021 Marlon Purification 315 views

THE PRESIDENTIAL Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Thursday denied allegations that the 1,479 personnel employed under a contract of service were trolls.

In the Senate hearing on the PCOO’s P1.9-billion proposed budget for 2022, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon asked Communications Undersecretary Kris Ablan over the status of employment in the agency.

Ablan explained that the entire PCOO has 3,883 plantilla positions, of which, 2,107 are filled as of August 31, 2021 and for the entire PCOO, there are 1,479 employees hired under a contract of service (COS), of which 330 are with the PCOO proper.

“Dito ‘yung mga troll, ano?” the senator asked in which Ablan denied saying “’Di po, wala po kaming troll.”

“Tutal ‘di ka naman mapapaamin e, might as well make light of it. ‘Di mo naman aaminin na may troll kayo e, anyway,” Drilon added.

Ablan further explained that PCOO proper allotted P76 million for the personnel under COS while the regular or plantilla positions were allocated with P117.269 million.

“Don’t you find this a little odd, you have 1,776 vacancies but you hired 1,479 contract of service or what we call trolls? You spent P76 million for these trolls as against your payroll of P117 million.

Is this a correct way of using your funds?” Drilon asked.

“Why can’t you hire and fill up your unfilled positions?” he added.

In the end, senators asked Ablan to submit the names, addresses, educational attainment, and job description of the 1,4789 personnel hired under COS while Senator Nancy Binay asked for a daily time record of these personnel.

Ablan said they will give the details on the COS personnel’s employment but they will ask their legal office if they can provide the addresses of their employees.

Drilon told Ablan that confidentiality cannot be invoked because these are public records as they are hired by the government.