President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday, October 17 appointed his nephew and godson, filmmaker Paul Soriano as the presidential adviser on creative communications.
Soriano directed Marcos’ campaign advertisements and his first State of the Nation Address.
On the other hand, Soriano’s wife, actress and television host Toni Gonzaga performed and hosted some of Marcos’ campaign rallies.
“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,” Marcos said.
The Office of Press Secretary said Soriano agreed to receive P1 yearly as his salary.
This move is common among presidential advisers.
In 2020, when former President Rodrigo Duterte appointed Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as presidential adviser on Clark flagship programs and projects, the latter agreed to be compensated P1 per year.
‘Absolute honor’
Meanwhile, Soriano thanked Marcos for his 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 PBBM administration,” said Soriano.
“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,” he continued.
Soriano also underscored the importance of clearly communicating the message to the public.
“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,” Soriano added.
Adviser on creative communications’ role
The adviser on creative communications is a new post under the Marcos administration. Previous administrations do not have advisers on creative communications.
The Office of Press Secretary said that for this new role, Soriano is tasked “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.”
Prior to Soriano’s appointment, the director admitted that he was offered to serve as Marcos’ new press secretary to replace resigned Trixie Cruz-Angeles.
In an ABS-CBN News report, Soriano said he declined the offer for the position because he believes the post needs more qualified people.
“Yes, there was a conversation, but I feel that the position needs more qualified people to help the president,” Soriano said.
“I can be of better service behind the scenes working with the president‘s media and communications team,” he added.
In 2015, Marcos stood as one of the principal sponsors for the wedding of Soriano and Gonzaga.
Soriano is also First Lady Lisa Araneta Marcos’ nephew through her first cousin, director Gines Soriano.
RELATED: Paul Soriano offered to replace Trixie Angeles as press secretary
