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.
The Foundation for Media Alternatives (FMA) has expressed its “grave concerns” over the alleged misuse of confidential funds by the DICT for the purpose of conducting surveillance activities.
DICT secretary Gregorio B. Honasan II called a closed-door discussion with the executives of Dito Telecommunity in view of the impending July 2020 government-mandated deadline for the initial commitments of the country’s third major telecommunications player.
From the P3.7 billion in the National Expenditure Program that was submitted by Malacañang to Congress last year, the DICT's 2020 budget was hiked to close to P10 billion in the P4.1 trillion General Appropriations Act.
The National Justice Information System (NJIS) is an ICT platform that aims to address fragmentation in the justice system by developing information management systems and inter-agency exchange mechanisms.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has put faster and more robust Internet connectivity in the country at the top of its objectives for 2020.
While noting that the government has yet to release an official common tower policy, DICT undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. said the common tower providers may be given their respective areas where they can operate exclusively in a scheme similar to service areas imposed on telephone landline operators years ago.
