Ex-DICT undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said, however, that he was questioning the processes of DICT and not the track record and integrity of the private suppliers.
Despite the huge budget totaling almost half a billion pesos, former DICT undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. pointed out that the project is for 1,035 sites only and will run for just a period of five months.
A week after criticizing an assistant secretary of the DICT for apparent lack of concern on a proposed integrated contact tracing platform, former undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. took another swipe at the top officials of the agency for not acting on a crucial document for a broadband project in the country.
Presidential adviser for ICT Ramon “RJ” Jacinto had earlier clashed with the man he replaced at the DICT – resigned undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. -- regarding the government’s common tower policy.
Despite the controversy generated by his offer to quit, it was generally assumed that DICT undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. would remain in his post after patching up his differences with DICT secretary Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan II regarding the agency’s disbursement of its P300-million confidential funds.
The new designation is seen as an attempt to make DICT undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio stay in his post and to allow him to stamp his authority over Honasan’s “tres amigos” who have been running the show at the DICT.
In a joint statement with undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. on Friday, Feb. 7, DICT secretary Honasan denied that Rio mentioned any anomaly in the disbursement of the intelligence fund of the DICT.
DICT undersecretary Eliseo M. Rio Jr. has lashed out at his own agency for claiming in a public statement on Wednesday, Feb. 5, that the P300-million intelligence fund was “legitimately” spent on cybersecurity initiatives.
