Checking public’s pulse part of my job – Carandang

MANILA, Philippines - Subscribing to pre-election surveys was part of the job of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), Secretary Ricky Carandang said yesterday.

Carandang was reacting to a report of the Commission on Audit (COA), which found that the PCDSPO spent P5.5 million for pre-election surveys.

“Surveys are part of my mandate. Practically every government in the world subscribes to surveys,” he said in a text message.

Carandang said his office only subscribed and did not commission the pre-election surveys of both Pulse Asia and Social Weather Stations (SWS).

He said the only survey that the Palace commissioned was that of Focus Group Discussion in 2012 before President Aquino delivered his third State of the Nation Address. 

State auditors found that around P6 million of PCDSPO funds went to Pulse Asia and SWS, and was spent to “assess the public’s perspectives on national issues, the performance of the administration and other related issues.”

The PCDSPO, which Carandang heads, overspent its budget by P208,989.40, according to COA.

Phone bill savings

In a related development, Secretary Herminio Coloma of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) said his office saved around P800,000 from mobile phone bill expenses last year, contrary to another COA report.

Coloma said they spent only P3,193,014.67 out of their P3,981,000 budget.

Coloma added that they have given their side to COA and “they have not asked us about the issue again.”

He said the COA report was incomplete since it was only based on PCOO’s phone bills for two months. 

He assured the public that PCOO personnel have been doing their jobs despite budgetary constraints.

A COA report said PCOO incurred excessive mobile phone bills amounting to P116,942.

State auditors said P273,628.90 was disbursed for payment of PCOO’s mobile telephone bills for May 29 to June 28.

Last month, the COA also reported that the PCDSPO spent over P1.36 million on mobile phone bills last year.