DICT defends use of confidential funds

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Information and Communications Technology has justified the controversial disbursement of hundreds of millions of pesos in the agency’s confidential funds brought into the open by the resignation of DICT Undersecretary Eliseo Rio.

In its first statement since the issue broke out, the DICT yesterday said the P300 million in confidential funds were legitimately used for cybersecurity and the protection of the country’s national security.

It said this is in line with the safety of the government’s information facilities and institutions, and the welfare of the people “being the department’s utmost priority.”

“Rest assured, that proper procedures were followed, and the disbursements were regular in accordance with applicable accounting and auditing laws, rules and regulations,” the DICT said.

According to the agency, confidential fund is a line item allocated to the department under the General Appropriations Act of 2019.

Of the 2019 GAA confidential expense item for the DICT, P300 million was disbursed in three tranches of P100 million each, which were liquidated with the Commission on Audit (COA).

The DICT said the COA did not disallow the disbursements, noting that its recommendations were procedural, pertaining mainly to the timeframe for disbursement.

“Simply put, the COA’s main concern is for the department to be more efficient in processing the relevant documents — all of which the department has addressed,” it said.

Under existing laws, rules and regulations, it said the confidential expense item is for “lawful monitoring and surveillance of systems and networks to support the DICT’s functions, which include cybersecurity, the formulation and effective implementation of the National Cybersecurity Plan, and international cooperation on intelligence on cybersecurity matters.”

With cyber threats faced by the country increasing at an alarming rate, the DICT said it is mandated to protect the security of consumers and business users in ICT matters and to render technical assistance to other government agencies on related enforcement and administration.

“This increasing problem in cybersecurity needs to be addressed immediately and effectively. To do this, the expenditure of the funds, allocated as it was by Congress for that purpose, was both necessary and indispensable,” the agency said, citing reports from cybersecurity firm Kaspersky indicating that the Philippines is among countries most at risk of online infection as well as cyber attacks on the web.

According to the agency, a key component of cyber security is information gathering on ICT systems and aiding the government agencies involved in law enforcement and the defense of the country and its people.

It said cybersecurity threat monitoring activities have a direct impact on national security.

“Strategies for cybercrime and cybersecurity incident prevention are needed, together with the proper use of cyber tools, to protect our public safety and our nation’s security. The information systems in our country needs continuous monitoring so that both domestic and foreign cyber threats and cyber-attacks can be identified, addressed, and promptly neutralized to protect the safety and security of our nation,” DICT said.

Rio, who has submitted his resignation letter dated Jan. 31, 2020, raised the issue of questionable disbursements of P300 million in confidential funds of the DICT, which he said has no use for it, nor the mandate to conduct surveillance or intelligence activities.

He served as DICT acting secretary in 2017 until President Duterte appointed former senator Gregorio Honasan as permanent secretary in November 2018.

Rio said part of the reason for his resignation is due to some conflicting views with other officials in the agency.