President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in a meeting with Kacific executive in Malacañang. (Photo from the Presidential Communications Office)
MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. met with executives from the Kacific Broadband Satellites to explore the Philippines’ option for faster digital connectivity and improved cybersecurity, the Presidential Communication Office (PCO) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Marcos met with the executives from the Singapore-based digital firm on Tuesday and discussed how Kacific’s satellites have already helped the country’s connectivity, but it could still be improved so that the Philippines could catch up with other countries.
“It’s just an improvement on what we have now. Make it more permanent. But this is not, this is on [the] long term. We have to keep up. We are always looking for additional capability when it comes to all this communications, especially with the problems of cyber security,” Marcos said during the meeting.
Information and Communications Technology Secretary Ivan Uy and Science and Technology Secretary Renato Solidum were directed by the President to continue the talks with Kacific on the specific terms the company could enhance the country’s digital connectivity.
According to the PCO, Kacific is planning to launch the satellite Kacific2, which will provide support for the existing satellite Kacific1.
“The broadband services offered by Kacific2 could enable government-to-government communications from specific central offices to remote constituents and also support the existing government initiatives that promote better Internet connectivity such as Free WiFi For all Program, the National Broadband Program, and the eGOV PH super app,” the PCO said.