President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (left) and Presidential Communications Office Secretary Jay Ruiz (Photo courtesy of PCO).
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Secretary Jay Ruiz on Tuesday slammed a story claiming that he supposedly co-founded a private media firm that secured a multimillion-peso deal from a government agency.
He also wondered whether or not this item was a 鈥渄emolition job鈥� against him.
A March 2 report from a news website claimed that Ruiz was a co-founder of Digital8, Inc.
This firm secured P206 million worth of contracts with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office in the last quarter of 2024.
READ: Palace: Ruiz follows legal steps to divest shares from 鈥榗o-founded鈥� firm
This piece was apparently meant to present a conflict of interest following Ruiz鈥檚 appointment at the PCO.
During Tuesday鈥檚 Palace briefing, the secretary expressed frustration over what he called 鈥渇ake news.鈥�
鈥淚 did not want to dignify the fake news. I never owned that company,鈥� he said.
The PCO chief further said, 鈥淐an you imagine P206 million?! Paparatangan ka ng ganyan ng hindi ka man lang kunan ng panig. Hindi ka man lang tawagan?鈥�
鈥淪a journalism, basic po 鈥榶ung kukuha ka ng dawalang panig. Kapag hindi mo kinuha 鈥榶ung isang panig, balanse ba 鈥榶un?鈥� he asked.
(In journalism, it鈥檚 basic to get both sides. If you don鈥檛 get one side, is that balanced?)
Ruiz added, 鈥淎no ito, demolition job? Fake news ba to? Ano鈥檔g dahilan?鈥�
(What鈥檚 this, a demolition job? Is this fake news? What鈥檚 the reason?)
When asked what might be the motive behind the alleged campaign to tarnish his name, Ruiz said one possible reason may be the order calling for the courtesy resignation of all presidential appointees in PCO, its attached agencies, and state-run companies under this office.
Amid the situation, Ruiz said he had already requested security for himself and his family, who have also been affected by the allegations.
鈥淎ng hindi ko inakalang mangyayari鈥� na doon ako tinamaan 鈥� 鈥榶ung mommy ko, 78 years old. May heart disease. Na-high blood kahapon,鈥� he disclosed.
(What I never thought would happen鈥攚here it really hit me 鈥� was that my 78-year-old mother. She has a heart disease. She suffered from high blood pressure yesterday.)
鈥淩ecently, may mga kidnapping di ba? May mga anak ako. Wala namang bodyguard yan,鈥� he also said.
(Recently, there have been kidnappings, right? I have children. They don鈥檛 have bodyguards.)
Amid the agony that the report caused, Ruiz said he would not file legal action against the news website.
READ: Palace: Report on Jay Ruiz鈥檚 ownership of Digital8 鈥榝alse鈥�
On Monday evening, the PCO issued a statement refuting the claims in the news report.
鈥淪ecretary Jay Ruiz was not an incorporator or director of Digital8, Inc. and has never owned any shares in the company,鈥� the PCO stated.
鈥淗e was merely Digital8鈥檚 authorized representative to the joint venture agreement due to his position as head of its sales and marketing,鈥� it explained.
鈥淭he JV won the contract through competitive public bidding in October 2024, in full compliance with all rules, regulations, and laws pertaining to public bidding,鈥� it emphasized.
Ruiz said he did not receive any commission from the deal.