Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla said on Saturday, October 10, that Malacañang has accepted the resignation of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Henry Aguda — the first confirmation from any government official that Aguda is leaving, and it came just three days after the Palace insisted he was staying.
What Remulla said on radio
Remulla made the statement on his DZRH radio program Executive Session when a co-host asked about Aguda's status. "Nag-resign. Tinanggap na 'yung resignation" ("He resigned. His resignation was accepted"), GMA News reported. The Manila Times carried the same confirmation, reporting that the Palace had "officially accepted the resignation."
One important caveat: Malacañang itself has not issued a formal announcement. GMA News said it contacted Aguda, the Palace, and the DICT, and had received no response as of posting. Until the Palace speaks on record, the confirmation rests on the Ombudsman's word.
A week of denials before the confirmation
The resignation story moved fast, and in one direction:
- October 6: Reports that Aguda had resigned spread on social media, including a post by lawyer and blogger Jesus Falcis claiming a resignation letter had been submitted to the Presidential Management Staff.
- October 7: Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said Malacañang had no information that Aguda resigned, and that he remained in office after she spoke with him. A statement from Aguda, read by Castro, said he serves at the pleasure of the President and respects the President's prerogative over the Cabinet.
- October 10: Remulla said the resignation had been accepted.
Separate reports citing unnamed industry sources claimed Aguda had submitted his resignation after losing political support. Those reports also pointed to his absence from the recent state visit to Singapore — where Finance Secretary Frederick Go, not the DICT, met Amazon Web Services executives about expanding the company's Philippine cloud and data-center footprint — as a sign he was already on the way out. None of these claims has been officially confirmed, and they should be read as reporting from anonymous sources.
The Discord ban and a free Wi-Fi probe
Aguda's final weeks were dominated by the government's abrupt blocking of Discord in September, a move that angered gamers, developers, and remote workers. The block was lifted after about 24 hours, but the fallout did not stop there: a petition questioning the government's authority to block online platforms has reached the Supreme Court.
The Ombudsman's office is also investigating alleged irregularities in the government's free Wi-Fi program, including sites where equipment was reportedly installed but no working internet service was delivered. That investigation has not established who is responsible.
Who might take over
Industry reports have floated DICT Undersecretary David Almirol as a possible officer-in-charge while a permanent appointment is worked out, with former DICT Undersecretary Monchito Ibrahim and former Globe Telecom executive Anton Bonifacio also mentioned. No appointment has been announced, and the Palace has named no successor.
Why the vacancy matters to Filipino internet users
The DICT sits in the middle of several live issues that now land on whoever takes the chair: the Supreme Court case on platform blocking, a string of suspected government data breaches — the agency was just probing a suspected breach of the EMB company registration system, the third government incident in a month — and the department's AI programs for small businesses, which Aguda had cited as a priority alongside the country's upcoming ASEAN hosting duties. A leaderless or caretaker DICT slows all of it down.
Aguda, a former president and CEO of UnionDigital Bank, was appointed DICT secretary in March 2025, succeeding Ivan John Uy.
