MANDATE

The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government that will plan, develop, and promote the national ICT development agenda. (RA 10844)

POWERS AND FUNCTIONS

I. Policy and Planning

(a) Formulate, recommend and implement national policies, plans, programs and guidelines that will promote the development and use of ICT with due consideration to the advantages of convergence and emerging technologies;

(b) Formulate policies and initiatives, in coordination with the Department of Education (DepED), the Commission on Higher Education (CHED), and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), to develop and promote ICT in education consistent with the national goals and objectives, and responsive to the human resource needs of the ICT and ICT-enabled services (ICT-ES) sectors;

(c) Provide an integrated framework in order to optimize all government ICT resources and networks for the identification and prioritization of all E-Government systems and applications as provided for the E-Government Masterplan and the Philippine Development Plan (PDP);

II. Improved Public Access

(d) Prescribe rules and regulations for the establishment, operation and maintenance of ICT infrastructures in unserved and underserved areas, in consultation with the local government units (LGUs), civil society organizations (CSOs), private sector, and the academe;

(e) Establish a free internet service that can be accessed in government offices and public areas using the most cost-effective telecommunications technology, through partnership with private service providers as may be necessary;

III. Resource-sharing and Capacity Building

(f) Harmonize and coordinate all national ICT plans and initiatives to ensure knowledge, information and resource-sharing, database-building and agency networking linkages among government agencies, consistent with E-Government objectives in particular, and national objectives in general;

(g) Ensure the development and protection of integrated government ICT infrastructures and designs, taking into consideration the inventory of existing manpower, plans, programs, software, hardware, and installed systems;

(h) Assist and provide technical expertise to government agencies in the development of guidelines in the enforcement and administration of laws, standards, rules, and regulations governing ICT;

(i) Assess, review and support ICT research and development programs of the government in coordination with the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) and other institutions concerned;

(j) Prescribe the personnel qualifications and other qualification standards essential to the effective development and operation of government ICT infrastructures and systems;

(k) Develop programs that would enhance the career advancement opportunities of ICT workers in government;

(l) Assist in the dissemination of vital information essential to disaster risk reduction through the use of ICT;

(m) Represent and negotiate for Philippine interest on matters pertaining to ICT in international bodies, in coordination with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and other institutions concerned;

IV. Consumer Protection and Industry Development

(n) Ensure and protect the rights and welfare of consumers and business users to privacy, security and confidentiality in matters relating to ICT, in coordination with agencies concerned, the private sector and relevant international bodies;

(o) Support the promotion of trade and investment opportunities in the ICT and ICT-ES sectors, in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI_ and other relevant government agencies and the private sector;

(p) Establish guidelines for public-private partnerships in the implementation of ICT projects for government agencies;

(q) Promote strategic partnerships and alliances between and among local and international ICT , research and development, educational and training institutions to speed up industry growth and enhance competitiveness of Philippine workers, firms, and small and medium enterprises in the global markets for ICT and ICT-ES;

V. Cybersecurity Policy and Program Coordination

(r) To formulate a national cybersecurity plan consisting of robust and coherent strategies that would minimize national security risks in order to promote a peaceful, secure, open and cooperative ICT environment;

(s) To extend immediate assistance for the suppression of real-time commission of cybercrime offenses and cyber-attacks against critical infrastructures and/or affecting national security through a computer emergency response team (CERT);

(t) To provide pro-active government countermeasures to address and anticipate all domestic and transnational incidents affecting the Philippine cyberspace and any cybersecurity threats to the country;

(u) To enhance the public-private partnership in the field of information sharing involving cyber-attacks, threats and vulnerabilities, and to coordinate in the preparation of appropriate and effective measures to prevent and suppress cybercrime as provided in R.A. No. 10175

(v) To monitor cybercrime cases being handled by participating law and prosecution agencies, and to facilitate international cooperation on intelligence, investigations, training and capacity building related to cybercrime prevention, suppression, and prosecution;

(w) To coordinate the support participation of the business sector, local government units and nongovernment organizations in cybercrime prevention programs and other related projects;

(x) To recommend the enactment of appropriate laws, issuances, measures and policies;

(y) To call upon any government agency to render assistance in the accomplishment of the Department’s mandated tasks and functions;

(z) To perform all other matters related to cybercrime prevention and suppression including capacity building and such other functions and duties as may be necessary for the proper implementation of R.A. No. 10175;

VI. Countryside Development

(aa) Formulate policies in consultation with local government units and other local stakeholders and line agencies for the implementation of responsive, relevant and comprehensive ICT-related strategies to improve the competitiveness of provincial locations for ICT and ICT-ES industry in order to develop balanced investments between high-growth and economically-depressed areas and to promote the development and widespread use of ICT;

(bb) Develop plans and programs in coordination with LGUs and other local stakeholders and line agencies to ensure that universal access to ICT services and infrastructure are effectively utilized to generate investments and opportunities in the rural area or areas unserved by private sector;

(cc) Assist, guide and support ICT-related activities and initiatives for countryside economic development; and

(dd) Promote and assist LGUs and local stakeholders in developing specialized ICT-enabled investments areas by providing technical and industry-calibrated assistance in the use of ICT for the enhancement of key public services, development and promotion of local arts and culture, tourism, digital literacy, and talent development.

Please click here to download a copy of the DICT’s Mandate, Powers and Functions.

Republic Act No. 10844, otherwise known as the “Department of Information and Communications Technology Act of 2015”, which was signed into law on 23 May 2016.

In accordance to the law, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) shall be the primary policy, planning, coordinating, implementing, and administrative entity of the Executive Branch of the government that will plan, develop, and promote the national ICT development agenda.

The DICT shall strengthen its efforts on the following focus areas:

• Policy and Planning
• Improved Public Access
• Resource-Sharing and Capacity-Building
• Consumer Protection and Industry Development

Apart from this, the DICT is expected to spearhead the following endeavors:

• Nation building Through ICT
• Safeguarding of Information
• Advancement of ICT in the Philippines

Aligning with the current administration’s ICT Agenda, the DICT will prioritize the following:

• Development of a National Broadband Plan to accelerate the deployment of fiber optic cables and wireless technologies to improve internet speed
• Provision of Wi-Fi access at no charge in selected public places including parks, plazas, public libraries, schools, government hospitals, train stations, airports, and seaports
• Development of a National ICT Portal

For information and guidance of all concerned, please click on the link below:

Republic Act No.10844 

For a complete copy of the Implementing Rules and Regulation, please click on the link below:

Republic Act No. 10844 IRR

Gregorio B.  Honasan II

Senator Gregorio Ballesteros Honasan II was first elected to the   Senate   in   1995, the first truly independent candidate in Philippine political history to win in national elections.  He has been elected senator four times as an independent.

“Gringo” is the eldest child of Col. Romeo Honasan and Alice Ballesteros, an educator from Sorsogon. He dreamt of becoming a priest, then a doctor, but was advised by his father to apply at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) for a free college education. There, his father said, he would be trained as a cadet and pursue a noble profession as an officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

After   a   year   at   the   University   of   the   Philippines- Diliman, Honasan entered the PMA in 1967, topping some 10,000 applicants during the entrance exam.  He was elected President of his class for four years until he graduated in 1971 as Class Baron or First Captain, the highest leadership and aggregate award given by the institution.  He was also a contender for the Master of the Sword Award, the highest honor for athletics and physical fitness, after setting records in gymnastics and combat sports.

As   a   lieutenant   in   the   Armed   Forces   of   the   Philippines, Honasan was immediately deployed to Northern Luzon and Mindanao    against    various    armed    groups, including    communist rebels, secessionists, criminals, and terrorists.  Leading from the front by example, he was wounded several times in combat.

Honasan earned recognition for gallantry in action, and received three of the nation’s second highest military medals:  the Distinguished Conduct Star, and three Gold Cross Medals and Wounded Personnel Medals for wounds sustained in combat.  The Philippine Jaycees named him one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in 1985 for military service, only the second soldier in the country’s history to earn the award.

At age 35, he became the youngest officer in the history of the Armed Forces at that time to be promoted to full colonel.  He was also handpicked to serve as aide to the Secretary of National Defense, and later, as Chief of Security. In 1981, he earned his Master’s Degree from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), where he graduated with distinction for his thesis or management research report.

Honasan played a key role in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that ended the authoritarian rule of President Ferdinand E.  Marcos.    He rose to prominence as one of the leaders of a   group   of   young, idealistic   officers   known   as   the   Reform   the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), who believed that the President had health problems making him lose effective control over governance, and the moral ascendancy to lead the nation.  The net effect was the unwarranted loss of innocent lives, destruction of property and curtailment of liberty.  Their withdrawal of support was a decisive element in the triumph of the historic revolt.

During President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s administration, he was accused of masterminding the Oakwood mutiny led by a new generation of young reformist officers in the Armed Forces. He was accused of fomenting a military uprising, a charge later dismissed by the courts.

His entry into the Philippine Senate marked Honasan’s evolution from rebel-soldier to statesman.   He has since been a consistent advocate of a proactive government that would address poverty, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, social injustice, deeper forms of violence, divisive partisan politics, and uphold national sovereignty and ensure national security.

His landmark contributions to legislation include the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, Solid Waste Management Act, Increasing the Monthly Old-age Pension of Senior Veterans and Increasing the Base Pay of Military and Uniformed Personnel in the Government.  He is the main proponent of the National Security Policy, Freedom of Information or People’s Ownership   of   Government   Information (POGI) Bill, National Land Use Policy, and   proposed   a Mini Marshall Plan for peace and development in Mindanao. He also supported the proposed amendments to the Human Security Act.

He has authored and co-authored vital laws passed in the Senate on Strengthening the Dangerous Drugs Act, Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation, Stiffer Penalties for the Illegal Possession of Explosives.

Honasan filed several bills that focused on National Security, Intelligence Reform, Land Use, Agrarian Reform, Public Order, and Lasting Peace through a Comprehensive Long-Term National Peace Policy.

In the Senate’s Centennial Year, Honasan was elected Assistant Majority Leader of the Senate, Member of the Commission on Appointments, and Assistant Majority Leader, and Chairman of two major Senate Committees—National Defense and Security, and Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, and Chairman of the Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence Funds as well as the Ad Hoc Committee on the Marawi Reconstruction and Rehabilitation. Other Chairmanships he held as a four-term senator for   20   years   were   the   Committees   on   Energy, Labor, Environment, Agrarian   Reform, Sports, Public   Information   and   Mass Media, Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

A progressive but low-key political career notwithstanding, Honasan remains a soldier at heart.  He has been called a rebel, revolutionary, reformist, and destabilizer, among other less flattering labels.  But he is, in his own words, “just an ordinary professional soldier thrust into extraordinary circumstances.”  He has been happily married for the last 47 years to Jane Umali Honasan with whom he has 5 gifted children and 5 grandchildren, all potentially much better versions of himself.  Among his greatest achievements, he believes, are being a husband for 47 years, a father for 45 years, and a grandfather for 12 years.

Honasan   believes   in   the   ancient   definition   of   heroism:  when good people, from all walks of life work TOGETHER, sacrifice and help build for the next generation.  He is convinced that the Philippines is a nation of heroes.  After he has done his duty in this lifetime, he would like history to remember him less as a personality, and more for his family and children, and the brotherhood of men that he was part of.  Our greatest legacy, he believes, will   be   our   most   precious, strategic   and   renewable   resource:  our next generation of citizens and leaders – our CHILDREN.

Trunkline : (02) 8-920-0101 loc. 1000

Email Address : gregorio.honasan@dict.gov.ph

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Offices of The UnderSecretaries