Escudero: Jay Ruiz should have divested before appointment as PCO chief

Senate President Francis "Chiz" Escudero on Monday said Jay Ruiz should have divested his stakes in private firms before his appointment as Presidential Communications Office Secretary to avoid conflict of interest.

"Any conflict of interest ng isang taong galing sa pribadong sektor pagpasok sa pamahalaan ay dapat bitiwan niya at ma-divest siya para hindi manatili ang conflict of interest na 'yun. I think before he was appointed, he should have been vetted already and it should have been done before his appointment," Escudero said in a press briefing.

(A person from the private sector should have divested before entering government service so that there would be no conflict of interest.)

The Senate chief was asked to comment on a report saying that a Digital8, 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 PCO.

Escudero said this issue might be taken up during the Commission on Appointments' confirmation hearing on Ruiz's appointment.

"It’s possible that it will be taken up in the Commission on Appointments for as long as the documents are submitted and there is a complainant, and if there is a member of the CA that will bring it up," Escudero, who also chairs the CA, said.

The PCO has since stated that Ruiz was not an incorporator of the company, and tagged the report as "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 (JV) agreement due to his position as head of its sales and marketing," the PCO statement read.

"The JV won the contract through competitive public bidding in October 2024, in full compliance with all rules, regulations and laws pertaining to public bidding," it added

Further, the PCO said Ruiz resigned from the company on January 15, 2025 and was replaced as the company's representative to the joint venture through a board resolution on January 17, 2025, or more than a month before he was appointed to Malacañang.

The PCO argued that "there is no existing conflict interest in this case" by citing 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."

The PCO's latest statement is different from the statement of Palace Press Officer Undersecretary Claire Castro, who said that Ruiz is in the process of divesting from the company.

''Ang batas naman po natin ay allowed po mag-divest ng shares o interest sa anumang kumpanya na pag-aari 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 their shares or interests in a company within 60 days of their assuming a government position. He knows the law and we will do everything according to the law.)

''Sa pagkakaalam ko ay in the process na po dahil pine-prepare na po niya ang kanyang mga papers regarding [that],'' she added.

(To my knowledge it is already in process because he is already preparing his papers regarding that.)

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." — BM, GMA Integrated News