President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. told in an open forum at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland that the Philippine government has beefed up its cybersecurity system efforts for the digitalization of the bureaucracy, the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) said in a statement on Wednesday, January 18.
According to President Marcos Jr., this is in line with plans to improve connectivity, government efficiency, and for the advancement of the digital economy.
“The security has become a huge issue… that’s what we are trying to design now, a cybersecurity system for this sensitive information,” he said.
“The connectivity in the Philippines is still pretty low. And it’s unfortunate because some of the studies we’ve made, the general consumer, if you want to call them that, talks to every facet of their lives through the internet, except for government,” the President added.
The chief executive also noted the vital role of local governments in ensuring the establishment of internet connectivity infrastructures, which he said needs “to be consolidated and put together.”
“And that’s where we are right now: forming the databases for government, forming the databases that can be used by the national ID, [and] establishing it now,” the President said.
The country leader also expressed openness for support for the government’s digitalization initiatives.
In his recent meeting with the Private Sector Advisory Council on Digital Infrastructure in Malacañang, President Marcos Jr. ordered to speed up the digitalization of the National Identification system with the help of private sectors.
During the President’s term, thousands of previously offline areas under the Broadband ng Masa and Free Wi-Fi for All programs of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) were activated.
