Duterte reorganizes National Cybersecurity Inter-Agency Committee

MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte has reorganized the National Cybersecurity Inter-Agency Committee (NCIAC), making the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary as co-chairman of the inter-agency body.

In Executive Order 95 dated Nov. 15, Duterte made the DICT secretary a co-chairman of the NCIAC, replacing the secretary of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

The DOST chief, meanwhile, was relegated as a member of the body.

The NCIAC was created by former President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in 2015 through EO 189.

The law creating the DICT, Republic Act No. 10844 or “An Act Creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology”, was signed on May 20, 2016, less than a month before Aquino handover the presidency to Duterte.

Duterte also added as members of the NCIAC the Secretaries of the Department of Transportation and the Presidential Communications Operations Office, the Executive Director of the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center and the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Sitting as chair of the NCIAC is the Executive Secretary while the Director-General of the National Security Council sits as the co-chair.

GSG