THE courtesy resignation order on all political appointees in the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) is not a personal matter but a standard practice to give the new head of the agency a free hand to choose and put people he trusts to support him in carrying out the mandate of the department, ad interim Communications Secretary Jay Ruiz said yesterday.
Ruiz said this would also provide him the chance to evaluate the performance of all officials to determine who are performing and should stay as well as address issues over leaks, internal conflict, and intrigues in an agency.
“Usually, ganun naman talaga kasi we’re all presidential appointees here. So, para lang sa amin naman, kumbaga, siyempre, free hand sa pagpili sa ating magiging mga kasama (Usually, it’s like that because we’re all presidential appointees here. So, for all of us, it’s free hand in selecting those who would join us),” he said in a chance interview.
“As a secretary, dapat dalhin mo rin ‘yung sarili mong tao. And then, of course, i-assess mo rin iyung mga proseso at sistema… So, sa akin lang, siyempre, hindi, walang personalan (As a secretary, you should bring in your own people. And then, of course, assess the process and the system. So, for me, this is not personal),” he added.
He said each official will be evaluated based on what they have done, accomplished, and contributed during their stint at the PCO.
He said that the assessment of the departments under PCO could take two to three weeks.
Ruiz said the courtesy resignation order came from the Office of the Executive Secretary amid concerns over leaks, internal conflicts, and intrigue within the agency.
He did not mention any specifics but said that all orders and documents must be treated as confidential, whether they come from within the department or elsewhere.
“There have been many leaks, many intrigues, and instances of backbiting. We do not want that,” he added.
Asked how many have already complied with the order, Ruiz said he could not say as the OES is handling it.
The deadline for the courtesy resignation was last February 28.
Ruiz took his oath as PCO chief last week, replacing Cesar Chavez, who claimed that he had “fallen short of what was expected of him.”
60 DAYS TO DIVEST
In a briefing in Malacanang, Communications Undersecretary Claire Castro said Ruiz has 60 days from his appointment to divest any shares or interests he may have with certain companies that may conflict with his new position.
Castro said Ruiz is aware of the law and is in the process of complying with it.
“So, iyan po ay parating na po at alam naman po niya iyong batas at lahat po naman ng gagawin natin dito ay dapat naaayon sa batas (So, that is forthcoming and he knows the law and we will do all we can to ensure that everything is in accordance with the law),” she said.
The PCO, however, did not say which companies Ruiz would be divesting interest and shares from.
Reports said Ruiz, before his appointment to the PCO, was connected with a company that had a contract with the state-run People’s Television Network Inc. PTV is under PCO.
Ruiz was also reportedly connected with Digital8, Inc., which had a joint venture with the state-run Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) and won P206.05 million worth of contracts from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in 2024.
The PCO said Ruiz was previously connected with Digital8, where he worked as head of its sales and marketing division, but he resigned last January 15.
Ruiz did participate in the joint venture of IBC 13 and Digital8 as the latter’s representative.
The Digital8 board, however, replaced him as a representative in the joint venture on January 17, “more than a month before he was appointed PCO Secretary,” PCO said.
“Please refer to Section 3 (i) of Republic Act 6713 which states that ‘Conflict of interest arises when a public official or employee is a member of a board, an officer, or a substantial stockholder of a private corporation or owner or has a substantial interest in a business, and the interest of such corporation or business, or his rights or duties therein, may be opposed to or affected by the faithful performance of official duty.’” PCO said.
“Therefore, there is no existing conflict of interest in this case. We hope this statement sets the record straight on this issue,” it added.
The PCO and IBC 13, in separate statements, said the PCSO contract was won through competitive public bidding in October 2024 in full compliance with all rules, regulations and laws about public bidding.
IBC 13 said it was “affronted by the false information disseminated by some groups with regards to its legal, straightforward, transparent acquisition of the contract to air the PCSO Lotto Draws, and strongly urges the public to trust only in reliable sources of news.”
It added that it strongly denounced the fake news and refuted the malicious piece of information.
