MANILA, Philippines — Former Senator Gregorio Honasan on Monday assumed his new post as the new Information and Communications Technology secretary, officials said.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Honasan took his oath of office before President Rodrigo Duterte just before a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.
The president introduced him to the Cabinet before presiding over the meeting of the official family.
JUST IN: Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirms former senator Gregorio Honasan has taken oath as new information and communications technology secretary | @alexisbromero
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Honasan assumed office more than a year after Duterte signed his appointment papers.
He was appointed to the post on May 20, 2018.
Qualified to lead DICT?
Critics have claimed that Honasan, a former soldier, is not qualified to lead the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).
They noted that Section 11 of the DICT Act of 2015 states that no person shall be appointed secretary, undersecretary, or assistant secretary of the agency unless they have at least seven years of competence and expertise in any of the following: information and communications technology, information technology service management, information security management, cybersecurity, data privacy, e-commerce or human development in the information communication technology sector.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III has insisted that Honasan is qualified for the post because he has background in intelligence communication.
A member of Philippine Military Academy class ’81, Honasan joined a series of uprisings against the administration of Corazon Aquino, whom he helped install during the 1986 EDSA Revolution. He was granted amnesty by President Fidel Ramos in 1992.
Honasan was elected senator in 1995 and was re-elected in 2001, 2007 and in 2013. He ran for vice president in 2016 but lost.