Ramon "Ricky" Arellano Carandang (born September 2, 1967) is a Filipino journalist and former government official. Notable for his tenure as a news correspondent and anchor for

ABS-CBN ABS-CBN is a leading Philippine media and content company. It serves as the flagship media brand of ABS-CBN Corporation, a subsidiary of Lopez Holdings Corporation. Once the country's largest free-to-air television network, ABS-CBN has since ...

and the ANC, Carandang resigned from broadcasting on July 9, 2010, to join the government as Secretary of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO) under President

Benigno Aquino III Benigno Simeon Aquino III (; born Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III; February 8, 1960 – June 24, 2021), also known as Noynoy Aquino and colloquially as PNoy, was a Filipino politician who served as the 15th president of the Philippines ...

. He is currently Vice President and Head of Integrated Corporate Communications at First Philippine Holdings Corporation, First Gen Corporation, and Energy Development Corporation.

Early life and career

Ricky Carandang was born on September 2, 1967, in

Manila Manila, officially the City of Manila, is the Capital of the Philippines, capital and second-most populous city of the Philippines after Quezon City, with a population of 1,846,513 people in 2020. Located on the eastern shore of Manila Bay on ...

, Philippines. He is the son of Dr. Brigido Carandang Jr., former President and Dean of St. Luke's College of Medicine, and Dr. Maria Lourdes A. Carandang, a clinical psychologist and Founder of the MLAC Institute for Children and Families. He spent part of his early childhood in

Sacramento, California Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat, seat of Sacramento County, California, Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento Rive ...

, attending Isadore Cohen Elementary School. He later returned to the Philippines and completed his high school and college education at the Ateneo de Manila University, earning a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Management Economics in 1989. Throughout the 1990s, Carandang worked in the business sector as a stockbroker with Pryce Securities, HG Asia Securities, and Kim Eng Securities.

Media career

Carandang began his media career as a radio anchor for DZAR Angel Radyo in 1993. By 2000, he had become a prominent news anchor for the ANC, co-hosting the evening news program ''The Rundown'', hosting the national affairs talk show ''The Big Picture'', and serving as a field reporter for

's flagship news programs ''

TV Patrol ''TV Patrol'' is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by ABS-CBN, Kapamilya Channel, A2Z and All TV. Originally anchored by Noli de Castro, Mel Tiangco and Robert Arevalo, it premiered on March 2, 1987, on the netw ...

'' and ''

Bandila ''Bandila'' () is a Philippine television news broadcasting show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally anchored by Korina Sanchez, Henry Omaga-Diaz and Ces Drilon, it aired on the network's Primetime Bida line up from July 3, 2006, to March 17, 2 ...

''.

Public service

In 2010, Carandang became the first head of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office (PCDSPO), established at the beginning of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s administration to oversee presidential messaging and strategic planning. He resigned on December 12, 2013, with his departure effective at the end of the year.

Awards and distinctions

Carandang was named “Broadcaster of the Year” by the Rotary Club of Manila in 2010. He also served as President and Business Editor of '' Newsbreak Magazine'' from 2000 to 2004.

References

External links

* Filipino television news anchors Living people Members of the Presidential Communications Group of the Philippines 1967 births People from Makati Ateneo de Manila University alumni Benigno Aquino III administration cabinet members ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs people {{Philippines-politician-stub