NEWS | President Marcos named Social Security System head Robert Joseph de Claro as the new Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology on Tuesday. The appointment is an interim one, and it fills the seat left by Henry Aguda, whose resignation Marcos confirmed over the weekend.
The Palace denied resignation reports last week, but Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Saturday that Aguda had already stepped down. De Claro studied computer science at De La Salle University and has spent decades in business and technology, including leading People4u and JMango Philippines. He is the third DICT chief under Marcos, after Ivan John Uy and Aguda.
De Claro now oversees broadband expansion, online government services and cybersecurity policy. He also inherits a department under heavy watch. Its Discord ban in September was lifted in less than a day, and the Ombudsman is looking into claims of a ghost internet scheme in the Free Wi-Fi program, where paid connections allegedly never worked or never existed.
In BMN’s view, three chiefs in about four years points to a department that has struggled to keep steady leadership. A tech industry veteran may bring fresh skills, but the bigger job is winning back public trust. With the Philippines hosting Asean this year, there is little time to settle in.
Can one new name at the top fix problems that keep resurfacing?
