PCO budget breezes through House

The Presidential Communications Office (PCO) on Friday expressed elation over the “expeditious” approval of its proposed P2.281-billion budget for 2025 by the House of Representatives.

In a statement, PCO Acting Secretary Cesar Chavez said the speedy approval was a vote of confidence in the PCO and its mission.

“The fact that our budget breezed through the plenary without a single question asked and no opposition manifested spurs us more to deliver on the outcomes we have promised in that budget,” Chavez said.

“We appreciate the House’s full support for our new programs, the driving mandate of which is the truthful and timely communication of government services and initiatives to the public and all issues that affect them,” he added.

During the lower chamber’s deliberation on the PCO’s proposed budget on 9 September, Chavez stressed that the government’s communication arm was committed to providing the public “with truthful, factual, relevant, accurate and timely information.”

The PCO’s P2.281-billion budget for 2025 is 24.37 percent lower than its P3.015 billion budget for 2024.

Chavez, who was appointed acting PCO secretary earlier this month, vowed the PCO would spend every peso of its budget “efficiently, according to plans and programs, and fully compliant with the laws.”

The PCO is tasked with communicating and disseminating information about the policies, priority programs and projects of the administration through the appropriate media.