Ad interim appointment of Honasan as DICT chief gets CA nod

MANILA, Philippines — With no objection, the Commission on Appointments (CA) swiftly confirmed on Wednesday the ad interim appointment of former Senator Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan as Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary.

In endorsing Honasan’s appointment, Senator Cynthia Villar said the former military officer is no doubt “qualified for the position.”

“Secretary Honasan’s so far 44 years of experience in public service, more than half of which 24 years as a senator and the remaining years as a military officer, he served 4 terms here from 1995 to early this year during the 17th congress,” Villar said.

“As one of the latest addition to the Cabinet, Secretary Honasan is backed by a wealth of experience that justifies the boat of confidence of President (Rodrigo) Duterte himself about his qualification,” she added.

Senator Joel Villanueva also vouched for Honasan’s qualification to take on the position as DICT secretary.

Villanueva described Honasan as an “action man, a soldier, a former senator who has been instrumental in the passage of many landmark laws.”

Among those who also endorsed Honasan’s appointment were Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri, Senators Panfilo Lacson, Grace Poe, Christopher “Bong” Go, Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., and Rep. Ronaldo Zamora. /je