Byline: Irene Patricia Reyes, JD and Anton Oliver Javier, MD
The tobacco industry no longer hides in the shadows. It now actively seeks legitimacy by embedding its influence in public institutions. This systemic infiltration underscores the urgent need for the full and meaningful enforcement of the Civil Service Commission and Department of Health Joint Memorandum Circular (JMC) No. 2010-01, which protects public service from the commercial and vested interests of the tobacco industry.
The recent appointment of former tobacco industry executive Dave Gomez as Secretary of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) personifies these concerns. While Gomez claims he is “not part of the tobacco industry anymore,” a PCO news release proudly highlights his almost 24-year career with Philip Morris, most recently as Director for Global Communications until 30 June 2025, just days before his appointment.
Before PMI, Gomez was with Leo Burnett, the advertising firm behind notorious campaign mascots like the Marlboro Man, which was widely credited for linking masculinity to nicotine addiction. The firm even prided itself on neutralizing the DOH’s Yosi Kadiri campaign, which was designed to help smokers quit cigarettes.
We should all be alarmed that a career dedicated to working for one of the most harmful and deceptive industries, killing 110,000 Filipinos and over 8 million globally each year, did not disqualify Gomez from leading the Presidential communications arm. Tobacco industry actors, whose jobs rely on addicting generations of Filipinos to deadly products, often through deceptive marketing, have no place shaping the government’s public messaging, much more influencing public policy. Giving a senior tobacco executive a leadership position overseeing government communications severely undermines public trust, transparency, and accountability.
Sen. Pia Cayetano criticized the choice for the position of PCO Secretary, given Gomez’s long-standing career in the tobacco industry. Various health and child rights groups had called out his nomination for its potential to influence tobacco control regulation and messaging.
This is not merely a personnel issue; it is symptomatic of a broader, dangerous normalization of vested corporate interests in public governance. In June 2024, the Department of Justice, prompted by the Secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), issued a legal opinion stating that the DSWD may receive tobacco industry donations, as the CSC-DOJ JMC only prohibits individual officials from doing so — a move strongly criticized by public health advocates for enabling industry interference. In March 2025, Philip Morris executives were welcomed into the presidential palace by First Lady Liza Marcos, the Secretary of Social Welfare and Development, and the Secretary of Health for a ceremonial turnover of donated mobile clinics, an act that publicly legitimized the industry’s so-called “corporate social responsibility”. This May, the National Tobacco Administration traveled to Zimbabwe to explore ways to further boost tobacco production in the Philippines, despite obligations in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to find alternative livelihoods for tobacco farmers.
As a Party to the WHO FCTC, the Philippines is legally obligated to protect public policy from industry interference. Article 5.3 of the treaty explicitly recognizes the “fundamental and irreconcilable conflict” between public health and tobacco industry interests. Despite having an Article 5.3 policy (CSC-DOJ JMC 2010-01), the Philippines is backsliding in its commitments: industry influence is strong; JMC enforcement is weak, no official has been penalized for violations, and the JMC has even been attacked by pro-industry legislators.
The timing of Gomez’s appointment also raises concerns as the world’s governments approach the 11th Session of the Conference of Parties (COP11) to the WHO FCTC in November. The Philippines has already received the global civil society’s “Dirty Ashtray” award five times for aligning with the tobacco industry narrative, most recently at the 10th Session of the COP (COP10) in February 2024, prompting an investigation by the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, chaired by Sen. Pia Cayetano. SEATCA joins Philippine civil society organizations in calling for accountability.
HealthJustice Philippines Executive Director Atty. Faith Laperal emphasized, “We urge the Commission on Appointments to closely scrutinize this nomination and consider its wider implications on public health, good governance, and the country’s international reputation. We also call on all government institutions to uphold and rigorously implement the protections outlined in JMC 2010-01. Public service is a public trust. No official with prior ties to harmful industries should be entrusted with shaping national narratives or influencing policies that impact the lives of millions.”
Dr. Maricar Limpin, a leading pulmonologist and Executive Director of ASH Philippines, reinforced this position: “Civil society will remain vigilant. We will continue to monitor this and similar appointments to ensure that no official position is used, whether overtly or subtly, to advance industry interests at the cost of public health.”
If the government is serious about protecting the health of the Filipino people, it must start by upholding good governance and preventing interference from harmful industries, starting with strictly enforcing CSC-DOJ JMC 2010-01.
About SEATCA
SEATCA is a multi-sectoral non-governmental alliance promoting health and saving lives by assisting ASEAN countries to accelerate and effectively implement the tobacco control measures contained in the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC). SEATCA is an accredited ASEAN entity and an official Observer to the WHO FCTC Conference of Parties. WHO bestowed on SEATCA the World No Tobacco Day Award in 2004 and the WHO Director-General’s Special Recognition Award in 2014.
Contact Information:
Ms. Cyresse Ann Achilleos, Media and Communications Officer, SEATCA
Email: cyresse@seatca.org
Mobile: +63 975 701 7130