Poe says Honasan could ‘help allay fears surrounding national security’ at the DICT

Senator Grace Poe on Friday said Senator Gringo Honasan’s appointment as the new Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) chief, could “help allay fears surrounding national security” in the agency.

Poe’s statement came after the retired Philippine Army officer accepted his new role in President Rodrigo Duterte’s Cabinet.

READ: Honasan accepts offer to head DICT

“We need someone like Senator Honasan at the helm of the DICT who is dedicated and efficient, and who will ensure that our country will be able to modernize and make technological advances that can support growth and development,” the lady senator said in a statement.

“His appointment can help allay fears surrounding national security as I know him to be a cautious and patriotic guy who would put the country above everything else,” he added.

The chair of the Senate public services panel also pointed out how Honasan’s appointment comes at a critical time of the entry of the third telecommunications service provider.

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READ: Duterte pal is 3rd telco player

Poe meanwhile said she “acknowledge(s) and appreciate(s) all the reforms” that DICT Acting Secretary Eliseo Rio has “painstakingly introduced and worked hard for.”

Senator Bam Aquino, chair of the Senate science and technology panel, meanwhile said he looks forward to working with Honasan “to strengthen the ICT sector in the Philippines and improve access to quality and affordable internet services for more Filipinos.”

“… (W)e hope to get Sen. Honasan’s support in enabling more internet service providers and players in the industry, the upgrading of laws for our digital age, and in ensuring the effective implementation of the free internet in public places law,” Aquino said in a separate statement.  /muf