Ex-Globe exec named DICT secretary

MANILA, Philippines – A former executive of Globe Telecom Inc. will be the first secretary of the newly created Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

Globe announced yesterday that Rodolfo Salalima has been appointed by president-elect Rodrigo Duterte to head the DICT, which was created through Republic Act 10844 signed by President Aquino last month.

DICT is mandated to formulate and implement policies to promote the development as well as use of ICT in the country.

Salalima, a magna cum laude in Philosophy and cum laude of Bachelor of Laws graduate of San Beda College, has over 40 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. 

He started his ICT stint by serving as a board director and corporate and chief counsel of Radio Communications of the Philippines, and as vice president and head of legal and human relations of International Communications Corp. (now Bayan Telecommunications Inc.).

He later joined Globe and served as senior vice president for corporate and regulatory affairs until his retirement in 2008.

Salalima was also tapped as Asia Pacific representative and vice chairman of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Council Working Group for the Amendment of the ITU Constitution and Convention based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Last year, the UP Law Center published his book “Telecommunications in the Information Revolution,” which discussed his views as a major industry player and how law and jurisprudence can accommodate fast-evolving developments in ICT.