Amid PCO courtesy resignations, government ‘treasure’ Castro stays

MANILA, Philippines —  Palace press officer Claire Castro is a “treasure” and is keeping her post amid courtesy resignations submitted by personnel of the Presidential Communications Office, new PCO Secretary Lino Cayetano said yesterday.

Castro will not be asked to change her combative style, Cayetano said.

“For me, that’s the strength of Usec. Claire and that’s her personality,” Cayetano told reporters at Malacañang. “Usec. Claire is a treasure in this government. I haven’t seen someone who can articulate so well what this government is doing.”

“When it comes to explaining to Filipinos why we do some of the things we do, I really admire Usec. Claire when it comes to that,” Cayetano added.

He said among his programs is to strengthen PCO’s presence on the ground.

“As you know in this age of fragmented distribution, it’s important that we communicate with our countrymen,” he said.

Cayetano, whose siblings are known critics of the Marcos administration, also has a message to those who disagree with the government.

“To critics and bashers: debate is healthy. To me, debate is a good thing, it’s good for our democracy and improves policies. Our President has never shied away from critics,” he said. “So, we don’t have a problem engaging with critics, engaging with bashers, we want more engagement. We want you to challenge us.”

New FDA chief named

Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) has appointed pharmacist Margarita Gutierrez as the new head of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Upon her assumption of office, she immediately introduced her flagship program – the FDA RESET which stands for “Regulatory Efficiency through Systems, Empowerment and Transformation.”

The initiative seeks to strengthen the FDA’s capacity to deliver efficient, fair, transparent and trustworthy regulatory services without compromising the safety and quality of health products.

“True regulatory efficiency means being fast without sacrificing safety, having clear processes and ensuring fairness for all,” Gutierrez said in her message to employees early this week.

She emphasized that under her leadership, there will be evaluation of the agency’s systems and processes to be able to identify the problems affecting its operations and implement a zero-tolerance policy against corruption and conflict of interest.

“We will not look for someone to blame; we will look for where the system slows down,” she said.

Gutierrez, a holder of a PhD in Social and Administrative Pharmacy, led the creation of the Philippine Pharmacy Education Roadmap 2025-2030.

She replaced Franklin Anthony Tabaquin IV who served as officer-in-charge director general of the FDA in late August 2026.  – Rhodina Villanueva