MANILA, Philippines — Political blogger and commentator Rey Joseph “RJ” Nieto, widely known online as “Thinking Pinoy,” is heading back into government—this time with an assistant secretary position inside Malacañang.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has appointed Nieto as Assistant Secretary in the Office of the Cabinet Secretary under the Office of the President, according to an appointment document dated September 1, 2026 and reports confirmed Wednesday, September 16.
But Nieto’s new Palace job still comes with an important qualifier: as of September 16, he said he had not yet taken his oath of office and still needed to complete several formalities before formally beginning work.
And while his name became nationally recognizable through political commentary and social media, Nieto indicated that his new government assignment may be very different from his public persona.
Not a Palace spokesperson
Nieto said Cabinet Secretary Benjamin “Benhur” Abalos Jr. would determine his specific portfolio.
He also said he did not expect the job to be primarily a communications or spokesperson position. Instead, he described the Cabinet Secretary’s work as involving the monitoring of government programs, checking implementation and determining whether public services are actually reaching intended beneficiaries.
That would put Nieto inside an office that Marcos has increasingly used to coordinate government action beyond the walls of Malacañang.
Marcos appointed Abalos as Cabinet Secretary on July 8, directing the former interior secretary to help coordinate executive departments, address public concerns and make sure government programs reach communities around the country. The Presidential Communications Office said Marcos wanted Abalos to travel nationwide, represent the President when necessary and call on Cabinet members to help resolve issues raised by the public.
That context matters because the traditional Office of the Cabinet Secretary was abolished in 2022 under Executive Order No. 1.
When Abalos was appointed in July 2026, Malacañang described his position as a redefined Cabinet Secretary role with responsibilities different from those of the old office, rather than simply restoring the previous structure unchanged.
Nieto is now entering that evolving Palace structure as an assistant secretary.
From ‘Thinking Pinoy’ to mathematics
Nieto rose to prominence after launching the Thinking Pinoy blog in 2015, becoming a highly visible political commentator during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.
But his professional profile has changed considerably in recent years.
Philstar reported that Nieto graduated from the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom in June 2026 with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and first-class honors. He is also pursuing a part-time master’s program in Science, Technology, Engineering and Public Policy at University College London.
Nieto said his mathematics training taught him to examine evidence, systems and complicated problems—a skill set he hopes to apply to government work.
That academic background may help explain why he expects his Palace role to center more on program monitoring and policy-related work than on media communications.
Nieto acknowledged the adjustment ahead, saying simply that “government is not a classroom.”
This is not Nieto’s first government job
The Palace appointment is also not Nieto’s first experience inside government.
In 2017, while already known as Thinking Pinoy, he worked as a consultant for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs.
He later requested the termination of that consultancy agreement in October 2017. GMA News and Philstar reported at the time that Nieto said the DFA consultancy was his active government engagement.
Nieto also appeared that year before a Senate inquiry into the proliferation of fake and misleading information, alongside government communications officials, journalists and other social-media personalities.
Legal cases also form part of his public record
Nieto’s years as a political blogger also produced several legal disputes.
Former senator Antonio Trillanes IV filed a libel case against him over a social-media post involving an alleged statement attributed to then-U.S. President Donald Trump. Nieto pleaded not guilty in 2018 and was eventually acquitted in June 2021, according to Philstar.
In a separate case brought by blogger Jover Laurio, a Makati Regional Trial Court ruled in Laurio’s favor over Nieto’s publication of personal and sensitive information.
The court ordered Nieto to pay damages and legal expenses after finding that his handling and publication of Laurio’s information violated her privacy rights under the Data Privacy Act.
Those cases remain part of the documented public record surrounding a figure who spent years operating largely outside formal government—and who is now preparing to work from inside the Office of the President.
What happens next
The immediate question is not whether Nieto received the appointment: multiple news organizations have confirmed it, and Nieto himself disclosed the appointment document.
The question is what Abalos will actually ask him to do once he completes his oath and other formal requirements.
Nieto has suggested that his assignment will involve evidence, systems and program implementation rather than traditional political communications. Malacañang, meanwhile, has tasked Abalos’ office with helping ensure that national government programs translate into services people can actually access.
That creates an unusual transition for one of the Philippines’ better-known political bloggers: from commenting on government decisions online to helping monitor how those decisions are carried out.
For now, however, one significant detail remains unresolved.
“Thinking Pinoy” has a Palace appointment—but his exact portfolio inside Malacañang has yet to be publicly defined.
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