SALALIMA: I QUIT OVER CORRUPTION

Secretary Rodolfo Salalima of the Department of Information and Communication Technology cited two reasons for his resignation in a speech before DICT employees Friday. These were corruption and interference.

Corruption and interference.

These were the two reasons behind his resignation, Secretary Rodolfo Salalima of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) told department employees during an “emergency” general assembly he called Friday afternoon.

The former lead lawyer of Globe Telecom made several vague references to favors asked that he had rejected and his struggle to do “the right thing” since his appointment 14 months ago.

“The deal was no interference, no corruption,” Salalima said, referring to his talks with President Duterte before he accepted the DICT portfolio.

“I resisted pressures,” he said, adding that the deal on noninterference was not followed either. “Because of that, I had, and must, resign,” Salalima said.

Salalima’s decision to quit was first reported in an online news website Thursday night, but the official said he finalized the decision “while driving home” on Sept. 4. His family, he said, was “happy” about it.

Broadband project

“I was informed that the President has not yet accepted my resignation. He wants to talk to me,” Salalima told the employees. He said he did not indicate that his resignation was “irrevocable,” out of respect and so as not to pressure Mr. Duterte, a schoolmate at San Beda College of Law.

“I do not want to threaten our President ... because I knew him,” Salalima said. “But he might not know everything that (was) going on,” he added.

“I rejected favors (asked). I rejected and opposed corruption in this government,” he said, though he did not detail the pressures nor where they came from.

He would be more free to talk once his resignation was accepted, Salalima said.

A source, however, noted that certain government factions were exerting pressure on the secretary for him to favor certain suppliers in the P77.9-billion national broadband project, the DICT’s biggest project so far.

The project would provide high-speed internet to both unserved or underserved areas in the country. An earlier version of the national broadband project was scrapped a decade ago during the Arroyo administration due to allegations of corruption.

Slow bureaucratic process

Another individual said that there were other sources of “pressure” on the official who had also grown weary of the slow bureaucratic process that came with public office.

Among Salalima’s priority initiatives was to get Malacañang’s support in cutting regulatory bottlenecks, mostly on the local government unit level, that have impeded or slowed the construction of new cell sites.

Another early initiative was for a DICT agency, the National Telecommunications Commission, to retake idle radio frequencies and use them for the benefit of the public.

Salalima was also behind the implementation of the free Wi-Fi project along Edsa in June.

Slow internet

The country’s slow internet had been a source of criticism for Salalima, a former Globe Telecom executive who was asked about possible conflict of interest during his confirmation hearings last year.

“I said there is no one in this country who has a monopoly on patriotism,” Salalima said. “I am a lawyer and I know my oath and I know where to place my heart once I become a public servant.”

A source said among those being considered for Salalima’s post was musician Ramon “RJ” Jacinto, because of his current role as presidential adviser on Information and Communications Techonology (ICT) and economic affairs.

Another candidate, according to reports, is DICT Assistant Secretary and Chief of Staff Carlos Caliwara.

Salalima’s assembly meeting on Friday likely lifted the morale of the DICT employees who gathered outside the auditorium and surprised their boss with an impromptu “photo op,” multiple “selfie” sessions, and a streamer with his picture complete with the hashtag #NoTo SalalimaResignation.

‘Delicadeza’

Malacañang said that Salalima had resigned about two weeks ago out of “delicadeza,” and “to avoid being misconstrued.”

Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella said Salalima resigned for “personal and workrelated reasons,” and that President Duterte was inclined to accept his resignation.

In the Senate, Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on Friday said Salalima’s resignation should not lead to the “low-batt, offline” implementation of billions of pesos worth of projects and reforms in the ICT sector.

Centralized portal

Recto noted that the agency had proposed a P6.9 billion budget, of which P1.74 billion was earmarked for the rollout of the newly signed Free Internet Access in Public Places, while P1.2 billion was meant to lay the groundwork for a national broadband system.

The department also allocated P422 million for the development of a centralized portal allowing individuals to make transactions online.

“I hope the DICT, despite being the youngest department, has a deep talent pool from where Secretary Salalima’s replacement will be picked so there will be no service interruption,” said Recto, the author and sponsor of the laws creating the DICT and the Free Public Wi-Fi Act.