Digital 8 Inc. ‘bagged’ gov’t contracts with P130K capital
Not resigning So says Presidential Communications Office chief Secretary Ruiz after it was revealed that a company, Digital 8 Inc., which he ‘represented’ as a media personality, was able to bag millions of pesos in government contracts despite a capitalization of only P130,000. In a press conference pertaining to one of the contracts, Ruiz was ‘misidentified’ as the ‘president’ of Digital 8 Inc.
Digital 8 Inc., the company that reportedly secured millions of pesos in government contracts while being “represented” by broadcast journalist Jay Ruiz, has a total paid-up capitalization of only P130,000, according to documents obtained by DAILY TRIBUNE from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Digital 8 Inc.’s General Information Sheet (GIS) for 2024 showed that its initial paid-up capital of P125,000 — as of 8 January 2019, as reflected in its Amended Articles of Incorporation — increased by only P5,000 over the years.
The company, formed to “engage in the business of a full-service multimedia production company” — including producing audiovisual presentations, commercials, television films, and web-based documentaries and features — had an authorized capitalization of a mere P1 million.
Both the GIS and the Amended Articles of Incorporation confirmed Ruiz’s statement Monday that he was neither an official nor an investor in Digital 8 when it secured the government contracts revealed by online news site Politiko.
Ruiz admitted, however, that he represented Digital 8 as a media personality when the company secured a P178.5-million joint venture contract with Intercontinental Broadcasting Corp. (IBC-13) to produce and transmit PCSO lotto draws and other games.
The programs were previously aired on People’s Television Network (PTV) but have since moved to IBC-13 and D8TV, said to be operated by Digital 8 Inc. Both PTV-4 and IBC-13 are state-owned.
Digital 8 Inc. also reportedly won a separate P27.552-million contract with PCSO in December 2024 for the production and placement of digital promotional videos. Combined, these contracts totaled P206 million in government awards to Digital 8.
On Tuesday, a visibly upset Ruiz, who has yet to warm his seat as Presidential Communications Office (PCO) chief, addressed the Malacañang Press Corps, accusing his “friends,” Politiko owners Gil Cabacungan and Rey Marfil, of spreading fake news about him.
Ruiz denounced the Politiko articles, which identified him as a co-founder of Digital 8 Inc.
“First, the Digi8 contract is not mine. I’m not a stockholder or shareholder. I was just invited to represent the company as a media personality because I have the stature to do so as a spokesperson. I resigned in January,” Ruiz said.
He argued that, since the company was not his, the accusations against him were false.
“It’s fake news. If I respond to fake news, I would only give it credibility. What hurts is that I wasn’t even asked about it by those I considered friends — the owners of the news organization,” Ruiz said.
Ruiz was referring to Cabacungan, with whom he covered the Senate, and Marfil, whom he knew from his coverage of the House of Representatives.
