Jay Ruiz on 'fake news' against him: Ilalaban natin 'to

Presidential Communications Office Ad Interim Secretary Jay Ruiz on Tuesday vowed to stand against the supposed misinformation being thrown against him.

Speaking to Palace reporters, Ruiz strongly denied that he was the owner of Digital8, Inc., the media firm that reportedly bagged millions of pesos worth of contracts from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

''Malakas ang loob ko humarap sa inyo ngayon, kahit saan tayo magpunta, hindi ako ang may-ari ng Digital8, wala akong kinitang P200 milyon,'' Ruiz said.

(I have the courage to face you now, or wherever we go, that I am not the owner of Digital8, I did not earn P200 million.)

''Ilalaban natin 'to ... hindi tayo padadaig sa fake news, hinding hindi tayo magpapadaig sa ganitong sistema... We want to change people's mindset. We want to change people's culture,'' he added.

(We will fight this, we will not be defeated by fake news, we will never be defeated by this system.)

He lamented that those behind the report were his former colleagues and friends, mentioning Gil Cabacungan and Rey Marfil. Ruiz is disappointed that his side was not obtained by these parties.

''It's basic in journalism, you get both sides. Saan ang balance doon? Where's the fairness?'' Ruiz said.

GMA News Online has reached out to Cabacungan and Marfil for their comments.

Cabacungan only responded with, "Thanks for reaching out."

Marfil also had a similar reply, only saying "Thank you," as well.

Demolition job

In a separate press briefing, Ruiz stressed that he was only an authorized representative of the firm in the joint venture agreement between IBC-13, Digital8, Inc., and the PCSO. 

''I never owned that company,'' he said.

''So, parang ginawa lang nila as representative dahil may konting pangalan naman tayo, ginawa akong parang spokesperson ng kumpanya – head ng sales and marketing noong October 2024.," Ruiz explained. 

(What they did was they designated me as representative, like a spokesperson of the company as head of sales and marketing in October 2024.)

"And in January 17 dahil nga may mga iba naman na akong inaayos na negosyo, ako po’y nag-resign sa kumpanya. I never owned a single share of Digital8 so maliwanag po iyan,'' he added.

(And on January 17, because of the fact that I'm also fixing other businesses, I resigned from that firm. I never owned a single share of Digital8, that's for certain.)

Ruiz is not listed as among the shareholders, directors, or officers of Digital8 Inc., based on the General Information Sheet, submitted by the company to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), seen by GMA News Online.

The listed stockholders and directors/officers of Digital8 include Rommel Miranda (president), Rouelle Miranda (treasurer), Clara Therese Miranda (secretary), Bea Louise Miranda, and Christian Puod.

Ruiz lamented that it could be a demolition job against him.

''On my 8th day ha, 8th day may ganito nang istoryang lumalabas. Ano ‘to demolition job? Fake news ba ‘to? Ano ang dahilan?'' he said.

(On my 8th day a story like this broke. What's this, a demolition job? Is this a fake news? What's the reason behind this?)

Ruiz then threw a hint that this peddling of ''fake news'' was due to the looming revamp in the PCO amid his leadership.

The news about Ruiz came after Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin had issued a memorandum directing all presidential appointees in agencies, offices, and bureaus under the PCO to submit their unqualified courtesy resignations.

''Mayroon kasing mga mangyayari dito na kinakailangan kong gawin. Mayroong balasahan na mangyayari, may mga… ang utos ng Executive Secretary lahat, from Director up, kailangan magsumite ng courtesy resignations. I don’t know kung bakit… I don’t know—mayroon akong slight na siguro kung bakit nila ginagawa ‘to ano,'' Ruiz said. 

(There's some things I need to do. There's a revamp as directed by the Executive Secretary, they need to submit their courtesy resignations. I don't know why, I don't know but I have a hint why they're doing this.) 

'Distraction'

Ruiz admitted that he has thought of taking legal action over the matter, but realized that he would only be "distracted" and he wants to focus on his job.

''I was contemplating, siyempre iyong una mong reaction ‘di ba file a legal action against these purveyors of fake news. Pero noong naitulog ko. naisip ko baka naman lalo lang tayong ma-distract, ma-distract tayo sa focus na ano ang kinakailangan gawin bilang Presidential Communications Office,'' Ruiz said. 

(I was contemplating possible legal action; that's my first reaction. But when I slept it off, I realized that I should not be distracted and just focus on my job in PCO.)

Still, Ruiz said he has no regrets about accepting the job at PCO despite the attacks against him. 

''Walang pagsisisi, walang pagsisisi. Ako po ay nandito para magsilbi, to serve our people, iyon lang," Ruiz said.

(There's no regret. I'm here to serve our people. That's it.) —VAL/RSJ, GMA Integrated News