A Spokesperson Who Spreads Love, Creates Allies, and Offers Solutions
*Dr. Rodolfo John Ortiz Teope, PhD, EdD, DM
I remember standing before my students inside a college classroom. At the college level, I taught Accountancy, Business Administration, and Behavioral Science subjects. But that was only one part of my journey as an educator.
When I entered graduate-school teaching, my academic world became much broader. I handled different disciplines. In the public safety program, I taught law enforcement, research, doctrine development, governance, leadership, and other subjects connected with public service and national development.
Yet regardless of the subject—whether numbers, human behavior, research, leadership, or law enforcement—I always believed that the purpose of education was not merely to fill the mind.
It was also to touch the heart.
A teacher does not simply stand before a blackboard or a PowerPoint presentation. A teacher stands before young people carrying different dreams, different problems, and sometimes invisible wounds.
May estudyanteng pumapasok na nakangiti pero umiiyak pala sa loob. May batang tahimik dahil binu-bully. May batang galit dahil may problema sa pamilya. May batang gustong sumuko ngunit pumapasok pa rin dahil umaasang may gurong makikinig at makakaunawa sa kanya.
Sometimes, one encouraging sentence from a teacher is enough to save a young person from completely losing hope.
Kaya bilang isang guro, masakit para sa akin ang kontrobersiyang ito.
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro was reported as saying that there were instances when some teachers violated standards of morality and taught students how to become disrespectful. The statement became controversial because it was delivered while the Palace was responding to the tragic school shooting at Ateneo de Zamboanga University.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers described the remarks as insulting and demoralizing to educators already struggling with inadequate salaries, heavy workloads, and insufficient institutional support. GMA News reported both the remarks and the teachers’ response.
In fairness, Usec. Castro later clarified that she was not blaming teachers for school violence. She maintained that her statement had been misunderstood.
I acknowledge and respect that clarification.
But in public communication, it is not enough to explain what you intended to say after the damage has already been done.
Words matter.
Timing matters.
Context matters.
And above everything else, empathy matters.
When a nation is grieving, the government must first console—not accuse.
When people are afraid, the government must first reassure—not provoke.
When teachers are already tired, overworked, and underpaid, the Palace must first listen—not make statements that may appear to place upon them the failures of society.
This may be the most damaging controversy yet involving the Palace Press Officer because teachers are not merely another political sector. They are among the people entrusted with molding the minds, character, and future of our children.
Hindi ko sinasabing perpekto ang lahat ng guro. No profession is perfect. There may be irresponsible teachers, just as there may be irresponsible lawyers, doctors, politicians, journalists, businesspeople, law enforcers, and government officials.
But the failure of a few must never be used to wound the dignity of the many.
Maraming guro ang pumapasok kahit may sakit. Marami ang gumagastos mula sa sarili nilang bulsa upang may magamit ang kanilang mga estudyante. Marami ang nagdadala ng trabaho hanggang sa kanilang bahay. At marami ang nakikinig sa problema ng mga batang hindi kayang magsalita sa sarili nilang mga magulang.
They may not be perfect, but neither should they become convenient targets whenever society fails its children.
The school shooting should have compelled us to ask more serious questions:
How did a young person obtain a firearm?
Were warning signs ignored?
Did the school have enough trained guidance counselors and mental-health professionals?
Were security procedures properly implemented?
What responsibilities belong to the firearm owner, the parents, school authorities, and the law-enforcement agencies mandated to control loose firearms?
Most importantly, what must the government do so that this tragedy will never happen again?
Instead of concentrating on these questions, the national conversation shifted toward whether teachers were being blamed.
The tragedy became a communications controversy.
The problem became an argument.
And the search for a solution became another reason for Filipinos to fight one another.
Mr. President, this is why I believe it may already be time to appoint a new Palace Press Officer.
This is not a personal attack against Usec. Castro. I do not question her intelligence, professional qualifications, or personal integrity. The issue is institutional suitability.
A person may be intelligent, articulate, and legally knowledgeable, yet the position of Palace spokesperson demands something more.
It demands the wisdom to understand that not every question requires an attack.
Not every criticism requires retaliation.
Not every opponent must be treated as an enemy.
The Happy-Issue, Happy-Problem Philosophy
The new Palace spokesperson must be someone who sees every issue as a happy issue and every problem as a happy problem.
This does not mean celebrating tragedy, denying suffering, or pretending that everything is fine.
A happy issue is an opportunity to listen, explain, and bring people together.
A happy problem is a challenge that invites government to search for a solution.
It is a philosophy of Positive-Solution Communication.
Instead of asking, “Sino ang sisisihin natin?” the spokesperson must ask, “Ano ang maaari nating ayusin?”
Instead of looking for a person to attack, the spokesperson must look for a problem to solve.
Instead of defending government through hostility, the spokesperson must defend it through truth, performance, compassion, and results.
Every problem must be met with hope.
Every controversy must become an opportunity to clarify.
Every criticism must become an opportunity to improve.
Every detractor must be treated as a possible ally.
The Palace does not need a spokesperson who creates enemies.
It needs a spokesperson who creates allies.
It needs someone who gives Filipinos reasons to believe in the administration—not another reason to hate it.
It needs a spokesperson who does not attack the opposition at every opportunity, but encourages members of the opposition to understand, appreciate, and perhaps eventually support the administration.
Because the truth is simple: you cannot persuade people to love the administration by giving them hatred in return.
You cannot create unity through insult.
You cannot earn trust through endless confrontation.
And you cannot build a bridge while throwing stones at the people standing on the other side.
Hindi lahat ng kritiko ay kalaban.
Hindi lahat ng nagtatanong ay destabilizer.
Hindi lahat ng sumasalungat ay gustong bumagsak ang gobyerno.
Some critics simply want the government to perform better. Some members of the opposition raise legitimate concerns. Some detractors may eventually become supporters if they are treated with dignity, answered honestly, and invited to become part of the solution.
The Palace Press Officer must understand this.
The spokesperson’s duty is not to defeat the opposition in a verbal battle. The duty is to help the Filipino people understand what the government is doing, why it is doing it, and how its actions will improve their lives.
Hindi ito courtroom argument.
Hindi ito debate program.
At lalong hindi ito personal na bangayan sa social media.
The Palace microphone is not a weapon.
It is a bridge connecting the President with the Filipino people.
It must be used to explain, not humiliate.
To reassure, not frighten.
To correct, not condemn.
To invite, not alienate.
To heal, not deepen the wound.
A good spokesperson does not always need to have the last word. Sometimes, the strongest response is a sincere explanation. Sometimes, it is an admission that government could have performed better. Sometimes, it is an apology.
And sometimes, silence is wiser than another unnecessary controversy.
Mr. President, you need a spokesperson who wakes up every morning asking:
“How can I make the Filipino people believe in this administration?”
Not someone whose first instinct appears to be:
“Who should I attack today?”
You need a spokesperson who can transform a controversy into an opportunity, a critic into a partner, a detractor into a listener, and an opponent into a possible ally.
You need a Palace voice that spreads love rather than hate.
A voice that unites rather than divides.
A voice that builds rather than destroys.
A voice that creates allies rather than enemies.
A voice that offers solutions rather than accusations.
Most importantly, you need a spokesperson who understands that our teachers are not enemies of the government.
They are among its most important partners.
Kapag pagod na ang mga magulang, guro ang umaalalay.
Kapag naliligaw ang bata, guro ang gumagabay.
Kapag nawawalan ng pag-asa ang isang estudyante, kadalasan ay isang guro ang unang nagsasabing:
“Kaya mo pa. Huwag kang susuko.”
Before we accuse our teachers, let us listen to them.
Before we lecture them about morality, let us provide them with adequate salaries, sufficient classrooms, trained guidance counselors, mental-health professionals, and genuine institutional support.
Before we make them part of the problem, let us recognize that they can become our strongest partners in finding the solution.
Mr. President, public communication is not merely about defending political power. It is about preserving public trust.
The voice of Malacañang must carry not only the authority of the Presidency but also its compassion, humility, and humanity.
At sa panahong pagod na ang bayan sa galit, away, at walang katapusang sisihan, perhaps what the Filipino people need is not another Palace voice that knows how to fight.
We need a voice that knows how to listen.
A voice that knows how to heal.
A voice that can offer hope even in the middle of a tragedy.
A voice that can make critics pause, make opponents listen, and make ordinary Filipinos believe once again that their government is not against them—but is standing beside them.
Mr. President, perhaps it is time for a new Palace voice.
A voice that does not merely speak for the President—but speaks with love, builds with hope, and understands the heartbeat of every Filipino.
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