RJ goes to the Cabinet

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has appointed businessman Ramon “RJ” Jacinto to a Cabinet position as presidential adviser for telecoms with full secretary rank.

RJ was previously appointed as presidential adviser for economic affairs and IT communications in 2017 and took charge of drafting the common tower guidelines before being appointed as undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, replacing Eliseo Rio in May this year.

During his stint in DICT, RJ was tasked with digitalization of broadcast and assisting the Department of Education’s distance learning and broadcast education projects. He secured the cooperation and commitment of 211 radio stations (members of Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas – KBP), 104 government radio stations (PBS), with a total of 80 percent penetration available for education on radio. For TV, he organized the available time of PTV-4, IBC-13, GMA, Solar, Cignal, GSAT, Beam and the cable companies for broadcast education to reach a total of at least 16.5 million households/subscribers.

A recipient of KBP Golden Dove award for his contributions to the industry as the founder of Rajah Broadcasting Network, RJ’s appointment as Presidential Adviser for Telecoms comes at a crucial time as the President has given a deadline for the dominant telco companies to improve their services by December.

Recently, presidential spokesman Harry Roque asked the two major telcos to submit a report to the President on the progress of their improvement of coverage after Duterte assisted them by cutting red tape in facilitating permits for the building of towers.

RJ was also the former vice chairman on flagship projects and programs during the administration of President Fidel Ramos.