It was addressed to “all undersecretaries, assistant secretaries, bureau/service/regional directors, and heads of operating units.” 

Among insiders at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), though, the half-joke is, “Sana ginawa na lang letter to Densing…or Diño.” (They should have just made it a letter to Densing or Diño.)

We’re talking about the memo issued by OIC Bernardo Florece Jr on April 6, which “strongly reiterated” the department policy that only the DILG secretary and his designated spokesperson can speak on behalf of the agency. 

Now, what prompted this notice that “information operations have to be properly managed”? 

Going by the date of the memo, it could be Undersecretary for Operations Epimaco Densing III saying in a March 31 interview that lugaw (porridge) the food was essential, but Lugaw the person wasn’t. Without any qualms, in another interview after that, he confirmed he was referring to Vice President Leni Robredo, whom pro-administration trolls had derisively called “Leni Lugaw.” 

The side remarks on the Vice President were uncalled for. The interview was about a Bulacan barangay official’s ridiculous misinterpretation of lockdown rules that food delivery was prohibited because the lugaw for pick-up didn’t fall under the government’s definition of “essential” and therefore not allowed during curfew hours. 

On April 6 – the same day the memo citing “recent media reports [that] have quoted some officials of this Department” was issued – the DILG also put out a press release disowning Densing’s remarks. 

You would think officials would’ve gotten the message. After all, there had been 3 memos before that – from 2018 and 2019 – to drill down the message: one voice, uniform position or statement, only Secretary Eduardo Año or Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya speaking while carrying the department’s name. 

But, no. A week later, on April 13, Undersecretary for Barangay Affairs Martin Diño was in the media, saying he told barangay captains to arrest eager residents who would line up too early at aid distribution centers. The DILG had to distance itself from what it branded as his “personal opinion.” 

On Tuesday, April 20, Diño said the community pantries that had sprouted across the country should be required to get barangay permits first. An hour later, he was contradicted by Spokesperson Malaya. 

So if your undersecretaries won’t stop talking, where does the department turn to? The newsrooms, of course!

On Thursday, April 22, DILG public affairs director Marlo Guanzon sent Rappler a letter, referring us to the September 2019 internal memo about whose words the media should take as the agency’s official position on issues. We wonder if this “DILG Policy on Official Spokesperson and Media Relations” also reached other news desks.  

(If you’re wondering, our policy at Rappler is to continue documenting what officials say, and put them in the context of their agencies’ official pronouncements.) 

Secretary Año has just returned from a 3-month leave after defeating a double bout of COVID-19. This time, he may have to chase away the talk-first-think-later virus that seems to have spread in his department. – Rappler.com