A peso a year.
That's what newly appointed Presidential Adviser for Creative Communications Paul Soriano will get as an annual salary, according to a statement from the Office of the Press Secretary on 17 October.
Soriano—a filmmaker/producer who directed the TV commercials and campaign sorties of then-leading presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos in the 9 May elections—took his oath of office in Malacañang on the day of his appointment.
"One of the greatest assets of the Filipino is our creativity, and we must find many ways to highlight that to the rest of the world. And that is what Paul Soriano has already been doing in his career as a filmmaker. And now we have asked him to help us at one peso per year," President Marcos was quoted in the OPS statement.
Soriano thanked Marcos for the appointment: "It's an absolute honor to be able to serve, first and foremost, of course, for the country and then, of course, for the Marcos administration.
"It's a passion of mine to just create and communicate. It's an absolute honor that the President has trusted me with this position."
Soriano is to advise the Chief Executive and assist departments and agencies, including government-owned and controlled corporations, on matters that will enhance their information dissemination programs and initiatives.
"You know, in this day and age, you need to do it creatively, and you need to communicate so that the mission and the vision and the message of the President is clearly communicated to the Filipino people," said Soriano.
Soriano is an advertising and marketing communications graduate of De Anza College in Cupertino, California.
His movie production company, TEN17P, coproduced Lav Diaz's 2016 historical fantasy drama Hele sa Hiwagang Hapis (A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery), which competed at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival and won the Alfred Bauer Prize or the Silver Bear (second prize).
