Marcos Jr. confirms Aguda, Gomez exit; Dizon to remain in DPWH ‘for now’
Erstwhile Information and Communications secretary Henry Aguda and Presidential Communications Office secretary Dave Gomez. Photo from Aguda’s Facebook page and Recoli Cortez, PPA poolSINGAPORE – President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. accepted the resignation of Information and Communications chief Henry Aguda, days after Malacañang denied reports that the embattled secretary was on his way out of the Marcos Cabinet.
“We were withholding that. We were holding it back until we found the – we’ll be able to announce also his replacement. But the Ombudsman already spilled the beans before we were able to,” Marcos Jr. told the media at a press briefing on the last day of his five-day working visit in Singapore on Sunday, October 11.
Marcos Jr. said the “timing was not coordinated” after Ombudsman Jesus Crispin “Boying” Remulla announced on a radio program on Saturday, October 10, that Secretary Aguda had resigned from his post and was accepted by the president.
“But I think that is because of the investigation that he is conducting. It’s related, I think, to the progress of the investigation that he is conducting on the ghost connectivity projects,” Marcos Jr. noted.
In September, the Office of the Ombudsman announced that the graft-busting body started a fact-finding probe into the DICT’s alleged ghost internet scheme, where contractors allegedly installed cheaper, outdated, or fake software for government agencies.
Marcos Jr. also announced People’s Television (PTV) General Manager Lino Cayetano as the new secretary of the Presidential Communications Office.
He will replace Dave Gomez, who was bypassed by the Commission on Appointments, according to the president.
“Na-bypass eh. Na-bypass si Dave. So, I guess immediately, at least, who will take his place will be Lino. Yeah, I don’t know. Yes, that’s more or less the situation,” he said.
The new PCO chief will assume duties once Marcos Jr. returns from his working visit in Singapore.
“It’s really just a question of formalizing everything,” he said.
Cayetano is the brother of Senate Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and Senator Pia Cayetano, and a former mayor in their stronghold, Taguig City. He was appointed to lead the state-controlled network in June.
Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Vince Dizon, together with Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla and school representatives, inspects public school buildings at Revilla High School in Barangay Maliksi and Aniban Elementary School in Bacoor City, Cavite, on Tuesday, February 3, 2026. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News/FileMarcos Jr. also denied reports of Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon returning to the transportation department, saying that he will remain in the agency “for now.”
“Well, we’ve talked about it. I don’t know. No, right now it’s a no,” he said.
“You know, we can still change, we can still change. But as we sit here together today, no, he is not moving,” the chief executive noted.