Watch more News on iWantTFC

MANILA -- Department of Information and Communications Technology Secretary (DICT) Ivan John Uy on Monday lamented the cut in the budget of the agency’s cybersecurity programs.

Uy said these are classified as confidential or intelligence funds which are needed to fight cybercriminals.

At the sideline of the launch of Cybersecurity Month 2023, Uy said the 2024 cybersecurity budget of DICT is only P300 million, which was much lower than the budget in previous years.

“Nakakalungkot po iyong cybersecurity budget natin ng DICT ay paliit ng paliit po. Nagsimula ang cybersecurity budget natin ng P1 billion tapos kinaltasan noong 2022, noong 2023 naging P600 million," he said.

"Ngayong 2024, P300 million na lang. So habang ang threat po ay lumalaki at lumalawak, iyong cybersecurity budget po natin ay paliit ng paliit," said Uy.

(It's saddening how the DICT's cybersecurity budget has been decreasing. We started out at P1 billion in 2021, but in 2023 we were down to P600 million. Next year it's going to be P300 million. So while threats are getting bigger, our budget is getting smaller.)

He added that it is important for them to have a higher budget since, like the military, they are also fighting a war--cyber warfare.

“Kumbaga kung may giyera po tayo, kung iyong giyera ay palaki ng palaki, iyong budget para sa armas at sa sundalo ay paliit ng paliit. Paano po natin lalabanan ang mga kalaban kung hindi tayo bibigyan ng bala, hindi tayo bibigyan ng armas, hindi tayo bibigyan ng sundalo na matrain para tugusin ang mga ito?” said Uy.

(We're like in a war here. If the war is getting bigger, but our budget for arms and soldiers is getting smaller. How will we fight the enemy without bullets, arms, and soldiers we can train?)

He also defended the use of confidential funds, asserting that they need covert operations too to fight cybercriminals.

When asked if it would be good to get from the confidential funds of other agencies, especially civil agencies, Uy said any help of additional funding is welcome.

He also hoped that all agencies and the public as well do their share in protecting their data online. He asserted that DICT cannot monitor the data or sites of over 600 national government agencies, 1,600 local government units, and about 100 state colleges and universities.

“Bini-build up natin ang cybersecurity work force natin dahil alam niyo po ang responsibilidad po, ang tungkulin sa cybersecurity ay hindi po nasa DICT, ito pa ay responsiblidad at tungkulin ng bawat mamamayan,” he said.

• PhilHealth appeals to public to refrain from sharing leaked data

(We are building up our cybersecurity workforce because cybersecurity is not just with the DICT; cybersecurity is the responsibility of every citizen.)