MANILA (UPDATE) — A Commission on Appointments (CA) committee on Tuesday endorsed the appointment of Ivan John Uy as Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary.

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Uy faced the CA panel, whose members raised several issues regarding the country's "digitalization" strategies and other cybersecurity concerns.

An IT law expert, Uy previously served as the chair of the Commission on Information and Communication and Technology (CICT) under the administration of former President Benigno Aquino III.

Uy was also the information officer of the Supreme Court during the tenure of Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.

Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked Uy to explain his "abrupt resignation" from the SC, "reportedly due to anomalies."

According to Uy, his resignation was not abrupt and was actually driven by desire for a much higher pay.

"The motivation for my resignation po is really the pay," Uy said, adding that he even received a commendation letter signed by Davide and then-incoming Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban.

Uy, meanwhile, lamented their limited budget on cybersecurity.

“Cybersecurity budget was cut in half for this year and we do not have any funds at all to acquire cybersecurity equipment in order to protect our digital infrastructure,” he said.

Due to time constraints, the CA is set to formalize Uy's appointment during its plenary session Wednesday.