By Darryl John Esguerra
MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has named Social Security System (SSS) president and chief executive officer Robert Joseph Montes De Claro as the new secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
Marcos made the announcement in a press briefing in Malacañang on Tuesday.
De Claro replaces Henry Aguda, who resigned amid an ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in government-funded Internet connectivity projects, including the alleged “ghost Internet” scheme.
Before his new appointment, De Claro was named SSS chief in December 2024 after serving as the agency’s officer-in-charge beginning in October that year. He previously represented employers on the Social Security Commission.
De Claro holds a computer science degree specializing in information technology from De La Salle University.
He also has extensive corporate experience, having held leadership positions at People4u Inc., JMango Philippines Inc., GlobalOne Solutions and Cloud Sherpas. He also served as an operating partner at FutureNow Business Services Inc
