Ombudsman: DICT chief Aguda has resigned

MANILA, Philippines — Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda has resigned and Malacañang had “already accepted” his resignation, Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Saturday.

There was no immediate confirmation from Malacañang. Palace insiders said that President Marcos himself would speak about this matter on Sunday before flying back from Singapore, where he is on a four-day visit.

Remulla made the disclosure during his Saturday radio show on dzRH, where he discussed digitization efforts by the Department of Justice to reduce the cost of processing documents for inmates who had been pardoned or paroled.

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READ: DICT Secretary Henry Aguda has resigned, says Ombudsman Remulla

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After stressing the importance of digitizing government processes, he noted that there were “problems” with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

“The DICT was a young department but started off on the wrong foot,” Remulla said, without elaborating.

This prompted one of his cohosts in the radio show to ask whether Aguda had stepped down.

“He resigned,” Remulla replied. “It was already accepted by Malacañang.”

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Heavy criticism

Reports of Aguda’s resignation came after the DICT received heavy criticism over its ban on the social media platform Discord last month.

READ: DICT chief: No hidden motives in gov’t moves on Discord, Reddit

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Following a fatal campus shooting in South Cotabato, the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), an agency attached to the DICT, gave Discord and Reddit, another online platform, 24 hours to establish a local presence or representative.

The directive sought to facilitate direct communication between the two companies and local authorities whenever issues over content arise.

While Reddit was permitted to operate after an online meeting with CICC officials, the ban on Discord was implemented after the CICC did not grant Discord an extension.

‘Reactive, lazy’

The ban, however, was lifted less than 24 hours after it was imposed, when Discord officials promised to cooperate with the two government agencies.

Online communities criticized the DICT for its “reactive” and “lazy” actions that affected Filipinos who legitimately use the platform for work and business.

“Blanket blocking is a reactive policy that affects not only bad actors,” the group Scam Watch Pilipinas said in a statement. “Target the harmful content. Target the criminals. Do not make legitimate Filipino users collateral damage.”

More recently, the Philippine Chamber of Telecommunication Operators expressed “grave concern” over sanctions imposed by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), another attached agency of the DICT, against three mobile network operators.

Sanctions on telcos

Smart Communications Inc., Globe Telecom Inc. and DITO Telecommunity Corp. were earlier slapped with P100,000 daily fines over “poor” mobile broadband service, which the group said “raises serious due process concerns” as the fines were imposed before the companies were notified and given an opportunity to respond.

Malacañang earlier said that Aguda would be keeping his post amid reports that he had already resigned.

Palace press officer Claire Castro, who traveled with the President to Singapore, told reporters on Wednesday that she had recently spoken with Aguda, who sent acting Secretary Dave Gomez of the Presidential Communications Office a photo showing that he was at work.

Aguda issued a statement on the same day saying that he was aware of the reports, but stressing that he remained focused on his duties, especially as the Philippines chairs the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) this year.

Aguda had extensive experience in banking, technology, and telecommunications in the private sector before his appointment to the DICT.

He was the president and chief executive officer of UnionDigital Bank, a position he left in August 2024.

Aguda also served as the digital infrastructure lead of the Private Sector Advisory Council, which advises the President on government-private sector collaboration.

He was board chair of City Savings Bank and UBX Philippines; a board member at Insular Health Care, BancNet, Metaverse Ventures and Platforms, and the Philippine Clearing House Corp.

Aguda also served as senior executive vice president, among other positions, at Union Bank of the Philippines, and as chief technology officer of Amihan Global Strategies, Globe Telecom, Digitel, and the Government Service Insurance System.

He led the software development services at WeServ Systems International and Nextel’s information operations.

Aguda was also assistant vice president of Bayantel Communication Holdings and managed the corporate data network of Manila Electric Co.

The DICT was established as one of the Philippine bureaucracy’s newest departments under Republic Act No. 10844, which was signed into law in May 2016 by then President Benigno Aquino III.

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Aguda was appointed DICT chief to succeed Ivan John Uy, who headed the agency from 2022 to 2025. —WITH REPORTS FROM DEXTER CABALZA AND INQUIRER RESEARCH INQ