Palace defends Honasan’s appointment to DICT

FILE: Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan at the Senate. (Photo: Gregorio Honasan/Facebook)

Malacañang on Thursday, November 22, defended the appointment of Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan as the next secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), stressing that the Palace is not to decide whether or not he is fit for the position.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said this, hours after the Palace released Honasan’s appointment papers signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday.

Panelo was asked in a press briefing by a reporter if they believe that Honasan, a former military man, is capable of doing duties and responsibilities of the DICT chief, to which he responded, “definitely.”

However, under Section 11 of the Republic Act (RA) No. 10844, also known as the DICT Act of 2015, a person can only be appointed as secretary, undersecretary, or assistant secretary of the DICT if he or she obtained at least seven years of competence and expertise in “information and communications technology (ICT), information technology service management, information security management, cybersecurity, data privacy. e-Commerce, or human capital development in the ICT sector.”

The law also states that the person must be a Filipino citizen and resident, and must be of good moral character and proven integrity.

Responding to this, Panelo said they will be leaving the senator’s fate at the hands of the Commission on Appointments (CA).

“It is not for us to decide on that. It will be the Commission on Appointments. There will be vetting there, there will be hearing, and he will have to respond to questions on his competence,” the spokesman said.

Asked whether Malacañang is “open” to the possibility that Honasan might not get the nod of the CA, Panelo answered, “When the President nominates it’s for the Commission on Appointments to approve the nomination.”

Honasan, whose second term will end in 2019, will replace DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio, who was appointed to the post in May.

The senator’s appointment came three days after the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) officially confirmed Mislatel Consortium as the new third telecommunications player in the country.

The Palace earlier expressed confidence to Honasan, believing that the latter will be able to perform his tasks at the DICT “consistent with the President’s priority programs beneficial to Filipino consumers in the areas of information, communications, and technology.”