Sotto: Honasan to be nominated DICT chief
SENATOR Gregorio B. Honasan II may be nominated next week, when the Senate resumes sessions, as the new head of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III said on Wednesday.
“I think when we resume next week, he would still be in the Senate. But I think the nomination will come out already,” Mr. Sotto said in a briefing on Wednesday.
Mr. Sotto said the appointment was discussed on Oct. 29 with President Rodrigo R. Duterte, in a meeting with Senators Honasan and Panfilo M. Lacson, Executive Secretary Salvador C. Medialdea and former Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence T. Go.
“I hope ‘di ko pinangungunahan ang Palasyo o pinangununahan si Greg pero napag-usapan talaga noon ‘yun. (I hope I am not preempting the Palace or Greg, but that’s what we discussed then). As a matter of fact, I think if you ask the President, he will confirm it. Napag-usapan lang namin kasi Nov. 12 na para ‘di ad interim, para nomination, (We agreed on Nov. 12 so that it will be a nomination instead of an ad interim appointment)” Mr. Sotto said.
“In other words, senator pa rin s’ya hanggang i-confirm s’ya. ‘Pag na-confirm siya ng CA (Commission on Appointments) at nag-oath siya, resign as sen(ator),” Mr. Sotto added. (In other words, he remains a senator until his confirmation. Once he has been confirmed by the Commission on Appointments and has taken oath, he’ll resign as senator).
“Hopefully before December break, (Mr. Honasan gets the CA nod), because otherwise he will be deemed bypassed, the same with Sec. (Eduardo M.) Año,” Mr. Sotto also said.
“Kung wala namang objections, wala namang violent objection from any members of the CA, ma-i-confirm na namin sila agad para ‘di na sila ma-bypass at ‘di na kailangan na ma-reappoint.” (If there are no objections, no violent objections from any members of the CA, we can confirm them immediately so that they will not be bypassed and no reappointment will be needed).
The Senate President added that Mr. Honasan “would be an asset in the DICT. Ang nakikita lang natin sa DICT is ‘yung communications. Hindi eh, kasi ang laking factor du’n ng national security, even in the entry of third telco and all that.” (What we see in DICT is the communications aspect. But no, national security is also a big factor, even with the entry of [the] third telco [player] and all that).