Aguda, Gomez out, Bongbong confirms
SINGAPORE — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday confirmed that he had accepted the resignation of Information and Communications Secretary Henry Aguda. He then dropped a bombshell — Presidential Communications Office Secretary Dave Gomez would also leave the Cabinet.
The twin announcements spurred questions about the sudden moves in the wake of the plummeting survey rating of Marcos.
His net satisfaction rating fell to -11, classified as “poor,” in September 2026 from -7 in June, according to a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey conducted from 21 to 27 September.
The survey found that 35 percent of respondents were satisfied with Marcos’ performance, 46 percent were dissatisfied, and 20 percent were undecided. The four-point decline reflected a widening gap between those satisfied and dissatisfied with the President’s performance.
Remulla spilled beans?
“Yes. But we were holding it back until we could also announce his replacement. But the Ombudsman already spilled the beans before we were able to,” Marcos said in a briefing at the Hilton Hotel here.
On Saturday, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla announced during a radio program that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. had accepted Aguda’s resignation.
The announcement raised questions among critics about how Remulla learned of the President’s decision, since the Office of the Ombudsman is constitutionally independent of the executive branch.
Marcos said the announcement was related to Remulla’s investigation into alleged irregularities involving government connectivity projects.
“I think that is because of the investigation that he (Remulla) is conducting. It is related, I think, to the progress of the investigation that he is conducting on the ghost connectivity projects. We came at that news or information from different directions, and the timing was not coordinated,” the President said.
Last month, Remulla disclosed that his office was investigating whether the government paid for internet connections that were never delivered and information technology systems equipped with substandard or fake software, in what he called a “ghost internet” scheme.
The fact-finding investigation centers on projects of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, including the government’s Free WiFi program.
Marcos also said Gomez would be replaced when he returned to Manila after the Commission on Appointments (CA) bypassed his appointment.
Palace sources, however, said that there was no decision yet on whether the CA will really bypass Gomez since the session of Congress will not end until today.
“Dave was bypassed. So I think the best to take his place would be Lino,” Marcos said, referring to PTV 4 general manager Lino Cayetano.
Gomez, a former newspaper reporter, Philippine Information Agency director general and longtime Philip Morris Fortune Tobacco Corp. communications executive, was named PCO chief in July 2025, replacing Jay Ruiz.
Ruiz’s own appointment was bypassed by the CA in June 2025, and Gomez is the fifth PCO head under the Marcos administration.
The Cayetano family is split down the middle, with Senator Alan Peter leading the camp against the administration and Lino apparently rewarded for standing apart from him.
Lino lost the 2025 Taguig-Pateros race to the candidate his sister-in-law backed, publicly told his brother in October 2025 to resign from the Senate, and was named PTV-4 general manager the same day Alan Peter’s grip on the Senate leadership came under challenge.
Cayetano would be the sixth official to head the PCO under Marcos, following Trixie Cruz-Angeles, Cheloy Garafil, Cesar Chavez, Jay Ruiz and Gomez.