New Philippines Body to Oversee Government Polls

In the Philippines, the government of President 'Noynoy' Aquino has signed an order creating an extensive Communications Group ('ComGroup') with the aim of getting closer to its people using traditional and new media. Functions include the control and supervision of market research and opinion polling.

ComGroup is split into two main offices, the Presidential Communications Operations (PCO) and the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning (PCDSP), reportedly based on the White House system dividing responsibilities between Communications Director and Press Secretary. Polling and MR functions including the Media Research and Development Staff will be under the aegis of the PCDSP, led by former television news anchor Ramon 'Ricky' Carandang, assisted by his deputy, former Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Manuel L. Quezon III.

The order said there was 'a vital need to reorganize and effect functional changes within the Office of the Press Secretary and create an office to systematize, rationalize and complement existing structure to achieve a more efficient and systematic interaction between the people, the Office of the President, and the Executive Branch', and added: 'It is likewise imperative that government re-defines its efforts to integrate and harmonize its message conceptualization, formulation and development policies and programs in order to fully utilize the opportunities arising from the rapid development of existing and emerging media'.

The government's official web site is at www.gov.ph . MrWeb's MR-a-thon country page for the Philippines is at www.mrweb.com/countries/7philippines.htm .