MANILA, Philippines — Acting Communications Secretary Lino Cayetano will not accept the courtesy resignation of Palace Press Officer Claire Castro.
Cayetano confirmed this in an interview with reporters on Friday, October 23, where he also said all undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) were asked to file courtesy resignations.
Cayetano gave no timeline for acting on the other resignations. He told reporters that evaluating his team would be an ongoing process rather than a one-time reshuffle, with some decisions coming within days and others months later.
“Usec. Claire, I don’t want to say we’re a package deal, but Usec. Claire is a treasure in this government,” Cayetano said in mixed English and Filipino. “I haven’t seen someone articulate [that] well what this government is doing.”
Without giving further details, Cayetano said the PCO currently has an "innovation" that he wants Castro to be a part of. "In this age of digitalization, we want an analog office. I think the PCO also needs to focus on being on the ground," he said.
Cayetano was all praise for Castro's combative style of responding to issues and affirmed he would like both of them to continue working closely.
"In terms of being combative (sic) and protecting what this administration is doing, to explain [why we do what we do], I admire Usec. Claire," he added.
"For me, that's the strength of Usec. Claire. That's her personality. We will balance that out, that if there is a need to explain a policy, we will invite the relevant department or Cabinet secretary [during briefings]," Cayetano said.
Cayetano became the PCO’s head after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. announced during a press interview in Singapore on October 11 that he was replacing Dave Gomez, whose appointment had been bypassed by the Commission on Appointments.
He took his oath in Malacañang on October 13, becoming the sixth official to lead the PCO under the Marcos administration, after Trixie Cruz-Angeles, Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil, Cesar Chavez, Jay Ruiz and Gomez.
A former Taguig City mayor and television director, he had been general manager of state-run PTV-4, a PCO-attached corporation, since June.
This is the third leadership transition Castro has been a part of since she entered the PCO.
Asked whose resignations he would accept, Cayetano said: “That will be a process as long as I am here.”