DICT chief Honasan breezes through appointments body

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Appointments, in an expected move, confirmed the ad interim appointment of former senator Gregorio Honasan as Information and Communications Technology secretary.

Honasan, who assumed the post of DICT chief last July, breezed through the confirmation hearing Wednesday.

Honasan’s appointment has been criticized as some observers questioned his credentials to lead the agency.

Section 11 of the DICT Act of 2015 states that the department’s secretary must 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.”

Defending his appointment, Malacañang said the former rebel is fit to lead DICT because he holds a management degree.

His former colleague, Sen. Vicente Sotto III, earlier said Honasan is qualified to become DICT chief because he has background in intelligence communication.

Honasan replaced DICT acting secretary Eliseo Rio, an electronics and communications engineer and a former military general.

He joined a series of uprisings against late president Corazon Aquino. He was granted amnesty in 1992 by then president Fidel Ramos.

Honasan was elected senator in 1995 and was reelected in 2001, 2007 and in 2013. He ran for vice president in 2016 but lost. — Gaea Katreena Cabico