PR/communications crisis

For those who missed it, the now viral exchange between the Palace beat reporter for ABS-CBN, Katrina Domingo, and Palace Spokesperson, PCO Undersecretary Claire Castro, happened just a day after the Palace announced the voluntary resignations “out of delicadeza” of key Cabinet officials (which she said the President had already accepted) who had been dragged into the flood control controversy. 

Then the bombshell dropped when Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, a former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, disclosed to Karen Davila that he did not resign but was told (by someone not from the Palace at that!) that he had to go. 

When Domingo insisted on the true circumstances behind the Palace claim that Bersamin had resigned, Usec. Castro, after some non-replies, attempted to set aside the matter with “Pabayaan na natin… let’s leave it at that.” 

To everyone’s surprise (and the delight of many), Kat Domingo held her ground (and rightly so) with an unapologetic, almost scathing reminder that the taxpayers, whose hard-earned money funds this administration, are asking and they deserve the truth — which visibly rattled Castro who scrambled for words.

The incident has the public wondering how many more of the things we have been told were lies or smokescreens and reality has been intentionally hidden from us. And it’s hard to believe this was just a one-off since this was not the first time the Palace had not gotten its story straight.

Remember all that effort that went down the drain to make it appear that the government had no hand in the rendition of former president Rodrigo Roa Duterte to the International Criminal Court in The Hague? That the government had no choice but to cooperate given its commitments to Interpol?

And yet here again, the Marcos administration found itself scurrying to clean up another disastrous communications debacle. 

Perhaps in an attempt to distract the public from the series of major hits they’ve been taking from Zaldy Co’s almost daily revelations, to Manang Imee’s tirade against her own brother, and the looming 30 November rally, someone had the great idea for PBBM to put himself out there before the press hoping that his act of taking questions would give a semblance of transparency and a show of strength/confidence from the Palace.

But when PBBM was asked the same question, he basically answered the same way Usec. Castro did — as if the fact that he had already spoken to the former ES and his declarations that there were “no acrimonious” feelings should suffice to put the matter to rest. Another failed strategy to counter his eroding credibility and to show that he is in control.

It appears that the Palace is in panic mode. There is no unified strategy, no coordination, no proper communications protocol and most alarming, no sense of courtesy for those who they expect to take one for their team. 

Loyalty cannot be bought, it’s earned.

Clearly, the Palace overestimated their hold over the former Chief Justice so much so that he was not even given the courtesy of a prior talk with his boss before his removal was announced. Bersamin found out at the same time as everyone else. 

Another crucial miscalculation that put a dent not only on the credibility of the Palace and the President but made all those around them think twice, since everyone is apparently dispensable and may be thrown under the bus now that it’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.