Marcos confirms Aguda resignation, no replacement yet for DICT chief

• Courtesy of DICT

UPDATED

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has confirmed the resignation of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda amid ongoing investigation into alleged ghost connectivity projects, with no replacement announced yet.

Marcos said the administration had initially withheld the announcement of Aguda’s resignation while looking for a replacement, but Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla disclosed the development before Malacañang could make an official announcement.

“But the Ombudsman already spilled the beans,” Marcos said.

The President said that Remulla’s disclosure may have been connected to the ongoing investigation into alleged ghost connectivity projects.

“It’s related I think to the progress of the investigation that he is conducting on the ghost connectivity projects,” Marcos said.

Marcos also acknowledged that the timing of the announcements had not been coordinated.

“I think we came at that news of that information from different directions and so the timing was not coordinated,” he said.

The President’s confirmation comes a day after Remulla disclosed that Malacañang had accepted Aguda’s resignation.

Remulla first revealed the development during an interview with DZRH on Saturday, October 10.

READ:

Malacañang accepts DICT Secretary Aguda’s resignation — Ombudsman

Meanwhile, Marcos also confirmed a separate leadership change in his administration, with Lino Cayetano set to replace Dave Gomez as secretary of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

As of Sunday, October 11, Marcos has not announced who will replace Aguda as DICT secretary.