PRESIDENT Benigno Aquino III signed into law Republic Act No. 10844 creating the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). A move long awaited by the technology industry.
The new department shall be headed by a Secretary, who will be assisted by three Undersecretaries and four Assistant Secretaries.
Communication Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said the law also requires that the Secretary, as well as the Undersecretaries and Assistant Secretaries, have “at least seven years of competence and expertise in any of the following: information and communications technology (ICT); information technology service management; information security management; cyber security, data privacy, e-Commerce, or human capital development in the ICT sector.”
The new law likewise abolishes the following agencies: Information and Communications Technology Office (ICTO); National Computer Center (NCC); National Computer Institute (NCI); Telecommunications Office (TELOF); National Telecommunications Training Institute (NTTI); and all operating units of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
All the agencies will be transferred to the newly created Department.
The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), National Privacy Commission, and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center (CICC) will be DICT attached agencies for policy and program coordination.
The new law will also rename the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to “Department of Transportation.”
(Photo source: Twitter – @noynoyaquino)
