President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday named film director Paul Soriano as Presidential Adviser for Creative Communications.
Soriano directed Marcos’ first State of the Nation Address in July, as well as the latter’s presidential campaign commercials.
Soriano took his oath of office yesterday. He is the nephew of First Lady Liza Araneta Marcos, and his wife, TV host and actress Toni Gonzaga, was known as an ally of Marcos.
However, Malacanang has yet to release Soriano’s appointment papers or clarify his job description under the post.
Soriano reportedly agreed to receive P1 each year as his salary.
“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.
Soriano thanked the President for tapping him as his adviser.
“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,” Soriano said. “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.”
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.
“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,” added Soriano.
Soriano won “Best Director” in the 2017 Metro Manila Film Festival for his movie “Siargao” which also won Best Film. His film, “A Lullaby to the Sorrowful Mystery,” won the Alfred Bauer Award for Best Film at the Berlinale International Film Festival in 2016.
His other films also won best film awards from the Catholic Mass Media Awards, Cinemalaya Film Festival, Mexico International Film Festival, Film Academy of the Philippines, and Star Awards for Movies. Vito Barcelo and Vince Lopez