Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on Wednesday said he would push for the restoration of P300 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds for the Department of Information and Communications Technology to combat cybercrimes.
Ejercito said agencies that handle cybersecurity such as the DICT should be given secret funds to prevent the proliferation of cybercrimes which become prevalent over the past years.
He also maintained his support for the increase of confidential funds for the National Bureau of Investigation.
“My position is that confidential and intelligence funds are better left with departments or agencies that have something to do with national security and the fight against criminality,” he said in a statement.
“I am also pushing for agencies like DICT and DOJ through NBI anti-cybercrime to be given confidential and intelligence funds in the fight against cybercrime,” he added.
The lawmaker stressed that these agencies should be given CIFs as “this also pertains to national security and cybercrime which victimizes thousands every day especially the more vulnerable in society.”
“Cybercrime is the new enemy of society,” Ejercito stressed.
He issued the statement a day after the House of Representatives removed P1.23 billion worth of secret funds originally allocated to five agencies, including the Office of the Vice President, and the Department of Education, both headed by Vice President Sara Duterte.
The DICT was among the agencies whose proposed CIFs for the upcoming fiscal year were also rejected.
Likewise, Senate Majority Leader Joel Villanueva said he would fight for the return of the DICT’s secret funds.
“[I] would fight for DICT confidential funds,” Villanueva told reporters in a Viber message. “After the executive session with DICT officials for hours I am convinced that we need to empower our cybersecurity measures.”
For Villanueva, the allocation of CIFs for the DICT was a “no-brainer.”