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Marc Jayson Cayabyab - The Philippine Star
January 3, 2026 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Former broadcast journalist Jay Ruiz and information and communications technology chief Henry Aguda came under scrutiny by the Commission on Appointments (CA) after their confirmations were bypassed or deferred before the 19th Congress adjourned.
Ruiz’s ad interim appointment as Presidential Communications Office secretary was bypassed amid allegations of a conflict of interest involving a broadcast lotto deal between the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Digital 8 Inc., a company linked to him.
Ruiz denied any irregularity. He was replaced in July 2025 by former communications director and Philippine STAR journalist Dave Gomez.
Aguda was also bypassed in June 2025, but President Marcos declined his resignation as Department of Information and Communications Technology secretary.
His interim appointment was eventually confirmed in October 2025, during the 20th Congress.
He was confirmed alongside Sharon Garin, whose appointment as Department of Energy secretary was also approved by the CA that month.
Meanwhile, the interim appointments of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling and Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro were confirmed in June 2025, still under the 19th Congress.
Another official bypassed by the CA was retired Supreme Court justice Jose Mendoza, who was appointed as member and retired justices’ representative to the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC).
His confirmation was deferred in October 2025 “due to lack of material time” after Sen. Imee Marcos questioned the JBC’s leniency in the ombudsman shortlist application of then justice secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla.
Remulla was later appointed ombudsman, despite efforts by Senator Marcos and her allies to block his application through the filing of cases and a disbarment complaint related to his role in the arrest and turnover to The Hague of former president Rodrigo Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity linked to the drug war.
Earlier, in February 2025, then Philippine Space Agency director general Joel Joseph Marciano Jr. also failed to secure confirmation after the CA deferred action on his appointment to an unspecified date.
Marciano resigned from the post in September 2025, after serving for five years since PhilSA’s founding.
