President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has appointed Senior Undersecretary Cesar Chavez as Acting Secretary of Presidential Communications Secretary (PCO), replacing Cheloy Velicaria-Garafil.
Chavez took his oath on Thursday.
Prior to becoming the new head of PCO, Chavez served as the Presidential Assistant for Strategic Communications under the Office of the President.
He also worked as Undersecretary for Railways from July 2022 to Dec. 2023, and Assistant Secretary for Rail from Sept. 2016 to Feb. 2017 under the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
From 2014 to 2015, Chavez served as Assistant General Manager of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
He also ventured into media, becoming Manila Broadcasting Company’s Assistant Vice President and Director for News and Public Affairs as well as general manager of the National Broadcasting Corp./DZAR.
Hailing from San Jose, Camarines Sur, the new PCO chief was also the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Commission from 1998 to 2000 and Commissioner-at-Large of the same body from 1995 to 1998.
Chavez, 59, completed his college degree in political science from Adamson University in 1989, and finished his Master in National Security from National Defense College of the Philippines in 2000.
Chavez studied in Bicol University, completing his Doctor of Philosophy in Peace and Security in 2008. He is married and has four children. |PND
