New PCO chief keeping Castro as she’s ‘a treasure in this gov’t’

MANILA, Philippines — Palace press officer Claire Castro will remain the Marcos administration’s chief mouthpiece following a recent leadership change in the Presidential Communications Office (PCO).

PCO acting chief and Secretary Lino Cayetano on Friday confirmed that Castro was staying put even as other appointees from the previous leadership had tendered their courtesy resignations.

“Usec (undersecretary) Castro is a treasure in this government,” Cayetano said of the lawyer-vlogger, whose regular media briefings are often not complete without a tart riposte to the President’s bashers or a straight-faced defense of his controversial decisions.

READ: Sara Duterte’s claim of fearing for her life ‘pure drama’ – Castro

Among her latest remarks parrying criticism was an explanation why a 27-year-old biology graduate and daughter of another “usec”—one who particularly piqued netizens over her fashion pictorial in Europe posted on Instagram—qualified as a commissioner of the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor.

‘Combative style’

Castro also recently justified the President’s latest side trip to the Formula One Grand Prix in Singapore, saying it was another opportunity to meet potential investors on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) Summit.

READ: Castro to Duterte: Practice what you preach, explain yourself in court

“I haven’t seen someone who can articulate so well what this government is doing,” Cayetano told reporters in an interview, only his second since taking his oath of office last week. He also expressed appreciation for Castro’s “combative style.”

“When it comes to being forceful in defending what this administration is doing and explaining to the Filipino people why we are doing certain things, I admire Usec Claire in that regard,” Cayetano said.

“But I see nothing wrong with Usec Claire’s assertiveness. Again, she’s a treasure,” the secretary stressed. “What is important to me is that we also convey all the important information about this administration’s programs and policies so that the Filipino people can feel their impact and understand why we are doing these things.”

“So I think, yes, we can trade punches with anyone. I think Usec Claire can stand face-to-face with anyone.”

Castro has been with the PCO since February 2025, when the office was headed by Jay Ruiz.

Ruiz served up to July 2025 and was replaced by Dave Gomez, who was PCO chief for one year and three months before Cayetano formally took over on Oct. 13.

YouTube channel

Before Castro, Daphne Oseña-Paez served as the Marcos administration’s primary press officer from December 2022 to January 2025.

Given the moniker “Ante Kler” in the media, Castro also runs a personal YouTube channel which currently has more than 643,000 subscribers and serves as her off-Palace platform for responding to the President’s critics, noticeably with a sharper tongue.

Cayetano, a filmmaker before entering government, was the general manager of state-owned PTV4 prior to his appointment as PCO chief, the sixth to hold the position since the start of President Marcos’ term in mid-2022.

Among his initial plans, he said, is the setup of PCO offices outside Metro Manila where the provincial personnel and stringers of the government media machinery can meet and work together.

“I think Usec Claire will also be a big part of that. We really want, in this age of digitalization, [to still have an] analog office. I think the PCO also needs to focus on being on the ground, being in universities, being in barangays, being in communities with you,” he said.

Lino is the younger sibling of Sens. Alan Peter and Pia Cayetano, who are members of the Senate minority bloc and vocal critics of the administration. INQ