Lino Cayetano named Palace communications chief

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Sunday said he had appointed Lino Cayetano to replace Dave Gomez as head of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

The President confirmed Cayetano’s appointment during a Kapihan interview in Singapore, noting that Gomez had been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments. Mr. Marcos also confirmed that he had accepted the resignation of Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda.

“When we get back, it’s really just a question of formalizing everything,” the President said regarding Cayetano’s appointment.

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READ: Marcos confirms Lino Cayetano to replace Dave Gomez as PCO chief

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Cayetano, the youngest brother of opposition Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, was appointed general manager of People’s Television Network (PTV 4) in June. He previously served as Taguig City mayor from 2019 to 2022 and represented the city’s second congressional district from 2013 to 2016.

Cayetano will be the sixth official to lead the PCO under the Marcos administration, which has seen five leadership changes since the President assumed office in June 2022.

The agency was first headed by lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles, who served as press secretary from June to October 2022. She was succeeded by Cheloy Garafil, who held the position until September 2024, when Cesar Chavez was appointed acting PCO secretary.

Veteran broadcast journalist Jay Ruiz replaced Chavez in February 2025 before Dave Gomez took over in July of the same year. Gomez, a former journalist and corporate communications executive, was the administration’s fifth communications chief.

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Regarding Aguda, Malacañang had delayed announcing his resignation, with Mr. Marcos saying “we were holding it back until we found [his] replacement.”

The President also ruled out Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon’s transfer back to the Department of Transportation.

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“As we sit here together today, no, he’s not moving,” Mr. Marcos said.

The President acknowledged that Cabinet assignments could still change but made no further announcements about other appointments.

“But the Ombudsman already spilled the beans before we were able to,” he said about Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla’s disclosure of Aguda’s resignation on Saturday.

“I think that is because of the investigation that he’s conducting,” Mr. Marcos said, referring to the Ombudsman’s investigation into alleged “ghost” connectivity projects in the Department of Information and Communications Technology.

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“I think we came at that news, or the information, from different directions, and so the timing was not correlated,” the President said. INQ