Escudero: DICT needs new equipment, not confidential funds

Senator Francis Escudero on Tuesday emphasized that the government has the capability to build a "credible and secured firewall against cyberattacks" without being bounded by confidential funds.

Escudero said the Department of Information and Communications and Technology only needs to procure necessary ICT equipment to protect the country's critical technology infrastructures from cyberattacks.

The procurement, he stressed can be aligned to the agency's capital outlay funds.

"I don't believe you will be telegraphing your punches if you do the procurement the normal way. Para kang bumili ng fighter jet na alam ng buong mundo ang specs," he told the DICT in a public hearing.

He said the confidential funds "may be the best currency for it if in purchasing or collating information that could lead to the smashing of hacking syndicates."

However, this can be sourced from the Office of the President's huge confidential war chest, he said.

"Because by tradition these funds held by Malacañang are farmed out to agencies on a per-project basis," Escudero added. "Kung specified ang target, klaro ang objectives, this can be presented to the Office of the President for funding basta hindi wholesale ang pag-download ng pondo."

As to DICT's wish to have a classified procurement process, Escudero said there are ways "to keep the purchase of sensitive equipment kept from public knowledge."

"Sa acquisition phase pa lang, pwede ka na mag-impose ng non-disclosure rules on certain aspects of procurement. At isa pa, you don't go to town boasting what you have just bought," he explained.

Citing that cyber attacks have high stakes, Escudero expressed full backing of the DICT's request for additional equipment, technology, and manpower that they can utilize to boost the country's cyber defense.

"Ang punto ko ay ang nature ng pondo na gagamitin. At sa aking tingin pwedeng gawin yan using ordinary funds, "he said.