Three years, four comms chiefs
The script is already written for you, you are forced to play a role, and the ending’s already decided.
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The script is already written for you, you are forced to play a role, and the ending’s already decided.
Since 2022, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) has cycled through four secretaries: Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles, June to September 2022; Atty. Cheloy Garafil, September 2022 to September 2024; broadcaster Cesar Chavez, September 2024 to January 2025; and now journalist Jay Ruiz, who insiders say has been reduced to a rubber stamp.
At this point, the PCO looks more like a pointless game show than a government office. Each new secretary came with a strong background — well-known journalist, PR pro, media expert — but no one stayed long. The mystery is why they quit and who’s really pulling the strings behind the scenes.
Has it become a trend that the job of PCO head is one that nobody keeps? Has it evolved into a basketball team where the coach changes players every quarter and then wonders why they can’t score?
The Publishers Association of the Philippines recently pointed out that constantly changing its head makes the office look unstable. And they’re right. If the people in charge keep moving out, how can anything get done properly?
Well, maybe the real bosses aren’t who we think. Behind the official titles and fancy offices, there’s rumored to be a small group of young, politically connected insiders actually running things. They say these aren’t communication experts — they got their positions because they were close to certain powerful people during the election. Imagine this — the stage crew in a theater is rewriting the play while the director just stands there holding a script they didn’t write. That’s basically what’s happening.
Former employees say the secretaries were just figureheads — they had the title but not the power. This behind-the-scenes group makes the important decisions on messaging, budgets, and media projects, instead of the experienced professionals. As one former staffer rued, “You could be the best communicator in the country, but if the wrong people don’t like you, you’re gone.”
It gets really interesting. The PCO handles hundreds of millions of pesos of public money for media projects and government messaging. Is the same unelected group that calls the shots controlling where that money goes? Like a private club spending government funds however it pleases, instead of serving the public?
Now, there’s a fourth secretary, Jay Ruiz, a well-respected journalist, who faces a tough choice. Will he actually be able to do his job? Insiders aren’t hopeful. His choice seems to be: to go along with how things are done or be replaced like the others. If things don’t change, we’ll be writing about secretary number five before long.
The million-peso question is: Can this be fixed? Well, the PCO doesn’t need another new face. It needs a complete reboot. Until someone reins in these behind-the-scenes players, even the most qualified secretary won’t be able to do their job properly. Only the elected and appointed higher-ups can really fix this. That is, if they even realize how bad things have gotten.
So, to whomever will take this job next: good luck. You’ll need it. Because here’s the thing — it’s all just a weird performance. You don’t get to improvise. The script is already written for you, you are forced to play a role, and the ending’s already decided.
As the audience, we can only sigh sans a standing ovation.
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