As lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles accepted the post to become the next press secretary for president-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr, former senatorial aspirant Luke Espiritu recalled how they used to be “allies” more than a decade ago.
The president of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino on Thursday shared a photo of him taken by Cruz-Angeles in 2009 and wrote: “We were once allies in the Anti-Arroyo struggle. Now we are worlds apart, belonging to opposing camps. Ahhh… lawyers.”
The Philippines was then being governed by president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who was then on her penultimate term.
The same year also saw the swine flu pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza virus.
The year 2009 additionally saw Metro Manila and its surrounding provinces submerged in widespread flood due to Tropical Storm “Ondoy.”
Espiritu’s post, meanwhile, earned comments from Filipinos who took note of Cruz-Angeles’ position now.
“Does it ever drive you crazy? Just how fast the night changes,” a Twitter user responded, referencing One Direction’s “Night Changes” song.
“I remember, Atty. Luke, that she came into the limelight as the lawyer of the Magdalo soldiers. An international HR group even made a profile of her. Grabe ang fall from righteousness,” another online user said with a pensive face emoji.
“Parang si Harry Roque lang,” a different Filipino tweeted, referencing the former presidential spokesperson who used to say he admired former senator Antonio Trillanes before criticizing him in the latter years.
Before serving the government, lawyer Harry Roque considered the opposition figure someone he admired for standing up against the Arroyo administration.
Eight years later, he defended Malacañang’s decision to revoke Trillanes’ amnesty after the latter’s involvement in coup attempts against Arroyo.
“The past finally caught with Sen. Trillanes. He’s responsible for his current state now,” Roque previously said.
In adding to Espiritu’s thread, social media users also brought up Cruz-Angeles’ old tweets against the Marcos family.
The incoming PCOO secretary acknowledged these but said that she had already told Marcos Jr., now president-elect, how she changed her mind about his family.
“Aren’t people entitled to change their minds? I think we are ‘di ba?” she said.
“As you know, I’m a vlogger. And we have talked about it extensively on the vlog, as you know. We have conducted, in fact, several lives about it. And I’ve told my story about how and when I have changed my mind about it,” Cruz-Angeles added.
“So that’s it, that’s pretty much it. I think evolution is a natural thing even among our consciousness,” she further said.
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Cruz-Angeles’ role as Marcos Jr’s press secretary is to lead the Presidential Communications Operations Office, which supervises state media like People’s Television Network and Radyo ng Bayan.
The PCOO also documents presidential events and handles the accreditation of journalists assigned to cover presidential functions.
“Hindi po ako spokesman… Ang trabaho ko ay magbigay ng media briefings kung may kailangan i-clarify sa mga statements ng pangulo o ng president-elect,” she said before.
Cruz-Angeles will formally take office on July 1.