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We are deeply alarmed at the appointment of Mr. Dave Gomez—a long-time executive of the tobacco industry—to a key government communications post. This move creates a serious conflict of interest that endangers public trust, transparency, and most of all jeopardizes the health of the Filipino people.
The tobacco industry is responsible for widespread addiction, disease, and untimely deaths of over 100,000 Filipinos each year. Placing someone who spent years advancing the interests of this harmful industry at the helm of government messaging undermines the very principles of public service. It risks turning the government’s voice into a vehicle for industry influence, weakening hard-won gains in tobacco control and public health.
This appointment flagrantly violates both the spirit and letter of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC)—a treaty to which the Philippines is a party. The FCTC obliges governments to protect public policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry. Installing a former industry insider in a role that shapes public opinion directly contravenes these commitments and sets a dangerous precedent.
We urge the Commission on Appointments to seriously consider the implications of confirming this appointment. Confirming this appointment is an endorsement of placing an architect of addiction in charge of shaping national discourse. Such a move gravely undermines the principle that public office is a public trust and opens the door for other harmful industries to gain influence in government.
We will remain vigilant. Civil society will closely monitor this appointment to ensure that Mr. Gomez’s ties to the tobacco industry do not interfere with the promotion of the general welfare or result in undue favor to an industry that causes death and disabilities among millions of Filipinos every year.
Contact person/s:
Mariz Amante Wee
Communications Officer, HealthJustice
+63998-885-1080 / +974-669-86655
Anelle Cortez
Project Coordinator, HealthJustice
+639178139696
