PCO: Jay Ruiz not an owner of media firm that bagged PCSO deal

Presidential Communications Office ad interim Secretary Jay Ruiz was not an incorporator of Digital8, Inc., the media company that reportedly bagged millions of pesos worth of contracts from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, the PCO said in a statement.

The PCO called the news report about the joint venture between Digital8 and IBC-13 "false, inaccurate, and misleading."

This developed as Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Atty. Claire Castro earlier in the day said that Ruiz was in the process of divesting his shares from the company. 

''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 PCO 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.''

The PCO said that there was no conflict of interest, citing Section 3 (i) of Republic Act 6713: "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."

In a separate statement, IBC-13 also branded the report on its PCSO contract as fake news. 

The network said that it submitted all needed requirements to qualify for the PCSO project and win the bidding in December 2024 as a Single Calculated and Responsive Bidder.

''We strongly denounce this 'fake news' and refute this malicious piece of misinformation,'' the IBC-13 said. 

At a Palace press conference, Castro was asked about a report saying that a media company 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 PCO.

Castro responded that under the law, Ruiz has 60 days to divest his shares or interests.

''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 nagassume 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.) –NB, GMA Integrated News