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Jay Ruiz in the process of divesting shares from co-founded firm — Palace
Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro said Monday that newly appointed Presidential Communications Office Ad Interim Secretary Jay Ruiz is in the process of divesting himself of his interests from his company.
At a Palace press conference, Castro was asked about a report saying that a media company supposedly co-founded by Ruiz had allegedly secured P206.052 million worth of contracts from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in the last quarter of 2024, months before his appointment to the Presidential Communications Office.
Castro responded that under the law, Ruiz has 60 days to divest his shares or interests.
Later in the day, the PCO released a statement that said the new ad interim secretary has no shares in Digital8, Inc., which reportedly bagged the contract with the PCSO.
''Ang batas naman po natin ay allowed po mag-divest ng shares o interest sa anumang kumpanya na pagaari niya within 60 days from the time na nag-assume ng position so 'yan po ay parating na po at alam naman po niya ang batas at lahat naman po ng gagawin natin dito ay dapat naaayon sa batas,'' she said.
(Our law allows someone to divest his/her shares or interests from his/her company within 60 days since he/she assumed his/her position. He knows our law and we will do everything that is stated under the law.)
(It's already in the process because he is already preparing his papers regarding that.)
The PCO said in a statement that Ruiz was not an incorporator of Digital8, Inc., the media company that reportedly bagged millions of pesos worth of contracts from the PCSO.
The PCO called the news report about the joint venture between Digital8 and IBC-13 "false, inaccurate, and misleading."
''Secretary Jay Ruiz was not an incorporator or director of Digital8 and has never owned any shares in the company. He was merely Digital8's authorized representative to the joint venture agreement due to his position as head of its sales and marketing,'' the PCO said.
The PCO said the joint venture won the contract through competitive public bidding in October 2024, which was in full compliance with all rules, regulations, and laws on public bidding.
The office said Ruiz had resigned from the company on January 15, 2025, and ''was replaced as the company’s representative to the JV through a board resolution on January 17, 2025, more than a month before he was appointed PCO secretary.''
Ruiz took his oath as the new chief of the PCO last week. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. administered Ruiz’s oath of office.
Ruiz replaced Cesar Chavez, who resigned after saying that he had "fallen short of what was expected of him." — RSJ, GMA Integrated News
