Palace defends Honasan appointment at DICT

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang yesterday defended the appointment of former senator Gregorio Honasan as information and communications technology secretary, saying he is capable of managing a department. ?

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Honasan holds a management degree, making him fit to lead the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). ?

“You know what his response was last night? He said ‘I was appointed not on my expertise on this line. I was appointed as a manager, as an administrator,’” Panelo said at a press briefing. ?

“He has AIM (Asian Institute of Management) degree for that. He is an AIM graduate of management. You have to have expertise in managing the department,” he added. ?

Honasan took his Master’s in Business Management at AIM in 1981, according to his biography posted on the Senate website. ?

The former senator took his oath as DICT secretary last Monday. ?

Section 11 of the DICT Act of 2015 states that no person shall be appointed secretary, undersecretary or assistant secretary of the agency unless he or she has 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, however, said in an earlier interview that Honasan is qualified to become DICT chief because he has background in intelligence communication. 

Honasan appealed to critics not to politicize his appointment as he vowed yesterday that he will not let politics intervene in his new responsibilities.

“This is not going to be driven by partisan political considerations. This is not going to be driven by voter density, which is the tradition,” he added, referring to implementing projects in far-flung areas.

“We’d like history to forget about us and remember us by the advocacies we stood for,” he added when asked how he wants to be remembered.

After Monday night’s Cabinet meeting, the newly installed secretary said Duterte has given him a free hand to reorganize the agency to ensure that the capabilities of all personnel are maximized. – With Janvic Mateo, Richmond Mercurio, Paolo Romero