DICT

FY2027 proposed NEP: DICT and attached agencies: The FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) proposes PHP 19.491 billion in total for DICT and its attached agencies. The presentation identifies PHP 17.6 billion for the DICT Office of the Secretary, PHP 594.4 million for the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), PHP 505.4 million for the National Privacy Commission (NPC) and PHP 790 million for the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). The hearing did not state comparable original submissions to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for the department or its attached agencies. Program-specific requests and later wish lists are separate from that department-wide comparison and are not added together to infer a requested total.

FY2027 appropriation components: Across the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and its attached agencies, the FY2027 presentation classified the proposed appropriation as PHP1.692 billion for personal services, PHP13.9 billion for maintenance and other operating expenses, and PHP3.892 billion for capital outlay. These are the figures reported in the presentation.

Free public Wi-Fi cost and reach: DICT Undersecretary for Support Services Heherson M. Asiddao said DICT's free public internet access program achieved reported cost efficiencies of up to 70% while expanding access, especially in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas. He reported about 10.37 million unique beneficiaries and 127.49 million user sessions, at an estimated monthly cost of about ₱22.4 per unique beneficiary.

Free Wi-Fi request and additional access points: Asked whether the Free Wi-Fi request remained ₱5 billion and whether that was 3% of the BESF, Rep. Renee Louise M. Co was told by DICT Assistant Secretary Christian Mark G. Guingcangco that the request was about ₱5 billion from the SUF. Co recalled a ₱7.5 billion request for the Free Public Internet Access Act the previous year. Guingcangco said the current request would sustain existing locations; adding more locations and schools would require additional resources, although DICT could coordinate with other programs. He said each peso added to the FPF budget would translate directly into last-mile connectivity. Co invited DICT to submit any additional access-point funding request through the committee. The exchange identifies the current request's source as SUF but does not answer whether it equals 3% of the BESF; the additional funding invitation was not recorded as a formal motion or appropriation approval.

District school Wi-Fi and DICT funding support: Rep. Ann Matibag requested Wi-Fi for the elementary school in her district that DICT had inaugurated the previous year, and hoped to partner with DICT, the Department of Education (DepEd) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on children’s safety. She expressed support for adequate DICT funding to continue improving digital infrastructure and a safer online environment. No amount or formal funding motion was stated.

Digital Workforce Hub procurement and renewal: Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago asked how much public money DICT would spend on the Digital Workforce Hub platform. Undersecretary Leandro Angelo Y. Aguirre said DICT procured it for PHP60 million in FY 2026 and estimated a PHP40 million license renewal for FY 2027; he said the procured license allows unlimited users. Asked whether it was locally developed, Aguirre said that, to his understanding, it was not: it had local partners and was localized for the Philippine setting, while its original developer was a Singaporean entity. He said DICT was partnering with government agencies and state universities and colleges to broaden use, including job-seeking graduates.

Budget absorption and the June 2026 utilization gap: Rep. Romeo S. Momo Sr. questioned whether the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) could use a FY2027 budget he characterized as 7% higher than FY2026, given reported FY2025 obligation of 61.7% of appropriations and disbursement of 22% of obligations. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda agreed execution mattered more than budget size, said DICT was on track for 90% utilization of its FY2026 budget, and said it planned to start early procurement in October and front-load FY2027 fund deployment. Momo then cited a Commission on Audit (COA) figure of 9% obligation as of June 2026. Undersecretary for Support Services Heherson M. Asiddao gave DICT’s and the Department of Budget and Management’s report of 24% for June, and said he would check with COA how it calculated 9%. The two June figures were left unreconciled.

Unimplemented FY2026 ICT projects and later allocations: Momo corrected his initial figure of PHP 3.7 billion to PHP 3.04 billion for seven Congress-initiated ICT projects in the FY2026 appropriation, including government and e-government systems, the digital national ID, free Wi-Fi and digital health. He asked whether the projects remained unimplemented. Asiddao answered that PHP 3.4 billion remained unimplemented, attributing the delay mainly to Congress-initiated amendments and a DBM condition that the agency first reach 85% BUR before funds could be downloaded. The PHP 3.04 billion figure in Momo’s corrected question and Asiddao’s PHP 3.4 billion answer differ and were not reconciled. Asiddao added that, after around August, DICT obtained an additional allocation of about PHP 500 million and another PHP 700 million from that fund. Momo urged faster execution; neither his warning nor these reported allocations constituted approval of a new FY2027 increase.

Personnel capacity and approved positions: Momo asked whether staffing constrained implementation. Aguda said DICT had received augmentation for additional personnel in July. Asiddao said DICT had originally requested about 500 additional plantilla positions and had roughly 1,700 job-order or service-order workers. He said its 2019 organizational staffing plan no longer fit current operations. The Department of Budget and Management approved about 115 additional plantilla positions. Momo urged DICT to use its available staff to execute appropriations; no further staffing amount was stated.

Free public Wi-Fi funding and service performance: Momo said the Free Public Internet Access Program received PHP 5 billion in FY2026, supporting 29,091 free Wi-Fi access points across 11,836 locations nationwide. He cited COA findings on missing or inadequate signs and connection instructions, limited service hours, speed and reliability problems, and delayed complaint resolution. Assistant Secretary Christian Mark G. Guingcangco said DICT monitored the locations and access points, asked providers to restore offline sites within 72 hours, and had replaced and secured missing signs. When Momo asked what share of locations was inactive and how many sites COA had found deficient, Guingcangco said he would check. Aguda said performance included site counts as well as use, bandwidth, reliability and citizen benefit. Poe directed DICT to submit the operating-site figures; no count was given in this exchange.

In-house eGov development, continuity, and IT staffing: Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe asked how the eGov Super App could continue across administrations because it was developed in-house without contractors. Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. confirmed the in-house development and said DICT might need Congress's help to sustain it. He identified government salaries as a challenge to recruiting IT workers and programmers, and said the e-Government law provides for another office under the department to sustain the service and includes a Magna Carta to add salary for IT personnel joining government. Almirol said this support would still not match private-sector salaries and described it as DICT's sustainability plan. Poe summarized continuity as guaranteed, subject to the personnel and funding the service receives; Almirol answered yes. The exchange records Almirol's account of planned institutional and salary support alongside his qualification about pay. It does not establish that the funding or staffing needs have been resolved.

Data center budget, cloud services and procurement records: Rep. Antonio L. Tinio cited a cumulative PHP 8.7 billion budget for the National Government Data Center Infrastructure from 2016 through 2026, then identified a FY2027 proposal of PHP 949 million, correcting his initial reference to billion. He described its breakdown as PHP 806 million in maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) and PHP 143 million in capital outlay, and asked how the mostly operating-expense budget supported data center infrastructure. Almirol said DICT’s visible build-up work was the first data center in Subic, where about PHP 700 million had been spent; he did not tie that spending figure to the FY2027 proposal. Tinio also questioned the report of 513 system units hosted on eGov Cloud through Google Cloud and asked whether the spending largely paid for subscriptions. Almirol said DICT provides cloud subscriptions to government agencies that request them and confirmed services were selected by competitive bidding. He agreed to provide the 2016–2026 spending breakdown, contract terms and procurement information; Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe directed DICT to submit those records and the standards it used.

eGov continuity, law financing, and government digitalization: Rep. Richard I. Gomez praised the eGov platform's reported reach and asked whether it could be sustained across administrations. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda referred to Undersecretary David Almirol Jr.'s earlier answer as addressing sustainability. Gomez raised the possibility of legislation to sustain the program; Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe said funding and personnel concerns were not yet included in the e-Governance law and that an amendment could be explored. Asked about the law's purpose, Aguda said it would institutionalize digitalization in government, allow DICT to pursue functions such as raising fees and its own revenue to sustain digitalization, and harmonize government IT investment.

Government IT salary levels and retention: Gomez asked about DICT's IT personnel salary grades. Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. said the highest grades were 20 and 22, while most programmers were at grades 19 and 20 with pay of about PHP50,000 to PHP60,000. Gomez urged institutionalizing IT workers' salary rates; Aguda agreed, and Gomez said the committee would work on it.

Magna Carta proposal and committee commitment: Aguda clarified that the Magna Carta for IT Professionals was a key component that had not been included when the eGov law passed. He asked Congress to consider it a priority to help retain IT talent. Gomez committed to file a bill in response to the Secretary's request, and Poe said the committee would support it and hopefully co-author. This was a commitment to pursue legislation, not an enacted salary provision.

Smart-city commitment and follow-up: Rep. Julius Cesar “Jay” V. Vergara recalled a 2020 commitment to make 25 cities smart cities by 2025 and asked whether it had been fulfilled. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said he was unsure whether the commitment was a national policy or part of the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) General Appropriations Act, and said DICT had no budget item for smart-city execution. Aguda promised to have his team check the details and send a written response to the committee. Vergara offered to send the Secretary the letter so they could clarify the commitment; Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe said he would ensure the response was submitted. Whether the 25-city target was met remained unanswered in this exchange.

Support for DICT funding: Vergara expressed support for DICT?s budget.

DICT allotments, obligations, and conflicting utilization measures: Rep. Roberto Nazal said that as of June 30, 2026 the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and its attached agencies had ₱22.519 billion in allotments and ₱2 billion obligated, about 9%, leaving a ₱20.5 billion unobligated balance by his calculation. He asked which projects accounted for the balance and how much remained unpaid or overdue. Undersecretary for Support Services Heherson M. Asiddao said DICT's reported Budget Utilization Rate (BUR), also reported by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), was 24% as of June; he said DICT would reconcile with the Commission on Audit (COA) the 9% reported to Congress. Separately, Asiddao said DICT had spent or released 89% of the funds downloaded to it. These are distinct reported measures with different stated bases; the exchange did not reconcile them. Asiddao acknowledged significant payables from prior years. He explained that current-year implementation extended into the next year and that DICT was paying prior-year obligations within a two-year period, so current-year project payments would follow later. When Nazal asked whether the problem was insufficient funds, Asiddao said it was timing between implementation and fund downloads, not a funding shortfall. He promised a written list, report, and explanation, including project delays and amounts appropriated, obligated, and disbursed; no itemized payable or year-end payment commitment was supplied in this exchange.

DepEd school connectivity and the unfunded SUC balance: Asked what DICT meant by 100% coverage of target public schools, Assistant Secretary Christian Mark G. Guingcangco cited 45,328 schools on the Department of Education (DepEd) list and reported 99.39% coverage at the end of August, with deployment continuing. He clarified that the figure combined different routes: some schools used their own DepEd maintenance and operating funds to buy internet service, while remote schools were being connected through DICT's Free Wi-Fi for All program. The standard DICT installation he described included a low Earth orbit satellite dish, modem, and three access points; the broader coverage rate did not mean every school had that same setup. He agreed to submit a deployment breakdown. For state universities and colleges (SUCs), Guingcangco described a separate Konektadong CHED project, with planned fiber and satellite connections for different groups of institutions. He said the remaining SUC balance was in DICT's Tier 2 request for the following year and appeared to have no funding at the time. Possible savings and synergies with the National Broadband Program's National Fiber Backbone might cover the balance, but the requested SUC coverage percentage and school-by-school list were deferred for submission. Poe clarified that DICT expected to cover DepEd schools while SUC coverage remained incomplete; the two coverage groups were not interchangeable.

eGov outage, cloud-service costs, and funding releases: Nazal raised a reported outage of the eGov platform lasting several hours, which he said had been attributed to non-payment, and asked what service or provider went unpaid and why. Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. attributed the pressure to unanticipated usage growth and cloud-service expiry: DICT had expected 30 million downloads by 2028 but already had 61 million in 2026, while more services, including the digital national ID, were integrated. He said DICT used a small backup server as the primary server to keep operations running. Almirol said a FY2025 ₱3 billion e-government-solutions allocation had not been released because DICT did not meet the 85% BUR threshold; the amount was part of DICT's holistic budget. He said the service's costs were being paid from the General Appropriations Act (GAA), and that the new law and its implementing rules had only recently enabled DICT to request support from the fund referred to as SUF. He also said the Digital National ID had received a separate budget and that separating it from eGov could free eGov resources. Almirol described a separate eGov sustainability budget as recently released, with bidding to begin, but confirmed that unpaid providers remained. Nazal requested a list of unpaid providers, aging, and due dates for submission. The exchange did not establish that all arrears were resolved or that the FY2025 unreleased amount had been paid.

Government data residency and local infrastructure planning: Nazal asked what DICT needed to bring more government data infrastructure into the Philippines, the cost, whether it was in the FY2027 NEP, and the timeline for moving critical data and workloads locally. Undersecretary Sarah Maria Q. Sison said an interagency committee on data classification would convene to speed consultations and implementing guidelines for Executive Order 119. She said DICT was engaging industry on the order's application and was developing a risk-based data-classification and data-residency framework. After the meeting, DICT expected to have the data and figures needed to plan transitions for national government agencies. She provided no cost, NEP inclusion, or transition date; those remained pending the consultations and data gathering. In his closing statement, Nazal supported a strong DICT budget but called for funds to produce reliable services, obligations to be paid on time, and digital capacity to be used; he said the e-Governance law offered an opportunity to reduce duplication and recurring costs and strengthen local infrastructure.

Free Wi-Fi funding, continuity and site coverage: Rep. Elmer V. Catulpos asked where DICT was extending free public Wi-Fi beyond schools. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said it was prioritizing Department of Education (DepEd) schools, then state universities and colleges (SUCs), tourist areas, markets and health services; he added community centers including barangay halls. Assistant Secretary Christian Mark G. Guingcangco reported coverage of 1,726 of 42,208 barangay halls and 766 of 4,000 local government unit offices, alongside public hospitals, rural health units, schools, libraries, tourist sites and markets. Catulpos noted a FY 2026 target of 22,916 public access points and a projected 60,000?70,000 sites, while the FY 2027 NEP listed no site count. Guingcangco said the FY 2026 Free Wi-Fi budget was PHP5 billion and the FY 2027 NEP also proposed PHP5 billion. He said the FY 2027 amount would maintain existing connections but allow fewer added sites; further additions would depend on efficiencies from renewals. He offered to submit a list of sites, and the committee requested a FY 2027 count and list.

911 caller-location costs: Catulpos asked who would bear the cost related to locating a caller for the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG)-operated 911 hotline, explaining that responders need the caller's location. After Aguda clarified what cost Catulpos meant and referred the question to NTC, Blanco said DILG would shoulder it.

National Broadband Program loans and GenSan coverage: Catulpos asked how much National Broadband Program (NBP) funding would reach SOCCSKSARGEN, especially General Santos City (GenSan). Assistant Secretary Pinky T. Jimenez said work was continuing on the National Fiber Backbone, with SOCCSKSARGEN in Phase 5; the World Bank-funded Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project (PDIP) covered phases 4 and 5 and was scheduled for 2027. Catulpos said the first PHP16 billion loan did not include SOCCSKSARGEN and a second proposed PHP16 billion loan still omitted GenSan, and asked that it be included. In response, Jimenez placed the area in cluster two of the loan, at PHP400 million, with implementation in August 2027; Catulpos acknowledged that GenSan was included. He then asked when GovNet would reach Tacurong, Kidapawan and other cities in the region. Jimenez said she would check the broader regional data, and offered to provide the committee with the nationwide NBP list. Catulpos expressed support for DICT's proposed FY 2027 budget.

Subic data center capacity and cloud costs: Rep. Presley C. De Jesus asked about the security and location of government data storage. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said DICT has on-premises data centers, while some eGov and other cloud storage is in Singapore and the United States, with more storage outside the Philippines than inside. Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. said DICT’s first Subic data center holds about 60 racks and is currently used for archiving. Citing a study, he estimated that a government-owned data-sovereignty data center would require about PHP 20 billion, with a projected return on investment in four to five years. Asked about current cloud payments, Almirol instead described total cloud-subscription requests from government agencies routed through the Information Systems Strategic Plan (ISSP): roughly PHP 30–40 billion, of which not all is provided. He said a unified data-management model could yield estimated savings of 50–60% in a feasibility study with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). Migration to local centers would be gradual, with cloud subscriptions continuing during the transition; he hoped most government data could eventually move locally.

Support for DICT’s budget with security oversight: De Jesus said he supported Secretary Aguda’s budget while urging close scrutiny of procurement and serious attention to source-code and cybersecurity risks.

eGovPH usage measures and funding request: Rep. Jan "Atty. JP" Padiernos distinguished cumulative eGovPH downloads, API calls and service listings from verified users and completed government transactions. DICT Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. reported 56 million unique verified Filipinos among 61 million downloads and undertook to provide end-to-end transaction data monthly. On funding, Padiernos asked DICT to reconcile PHP2.7 billion in e-government requests, including PHP800 million for the Super App, with NEP programs and expenditure objects. Almirol said DICT had requested the amount under the new e-government law and that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) provided PHP1.8 billion. These are e-government request and DBM-provided program figures, not DICT's department-wide budget; the exchange did not specify their detailed program/object reconciliation.

Cybersecurity capacity, measurable targets and incident response: Padiernos asked how the PHP1.094 billion cybersecurity program would protect agencies after citing a reported incident at the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) client portal, reports of 19 government websites compromised since September 2025, and a two-day eGovPH disruption in April 2026. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said the current budget could protect agencies DICT was already covering but would not protect the whole country, including privately operated critical infrastructure. He described preventive capacity goals: register 100,000 cybersecurity professionals the following year (with 5,000–10,000 expected in the current year), establish 100 certified vulnerability-assessment-and-penetration-testing (VAPT) providers and three private labs. He cited about 43 existing certified providers and combined output of 3,000–4,000 VAPT assessments. For the DOLE portal, Cybersecurity Bureau OIC Rodil M. Aniban said DICT received a report of a defaced subdomain outside DICT's control, DOLE took it down after its staff arrived, and DICT's team was coordinating with DOLE and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center to investigate whether data had been exfiltrated. Aniban also cited an ongoing response involving the Department of Migrant Workers. The incident claims are attributed to the question and officials' reported response.

DICT support tied to measurable results: In closing, Padiernos expressed full support for DICT's proposed budget and additional requests, while calling for measurable results in active connections, affordable service, completed transactions and accountability. His statement records support, not approval of an appropriation.

DICT utilization denominators and earlier procurement: Rep. Iris Marie Demesa Montes questioned the Department of Information and Communications Technology's (DICT) additional funding given its reported utilization: she cited 87% in 2024 and a 9% first-half 2026 figure, while noting the department's reported figure was around 20%. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said the 2025 denominator included a large World Bank-funded project that entered late in the year. DICT appealed to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) regarding the 85% threshold; Aguda said that without the World Bank project rolled over into the following year, the rate should have been about 80%. He said DICT prioritized unfinished 2025 work in 2026, and that he would check the 9% figure because DICT's number was 24%. He acknowledged that by midyear DICT should have been adjusted to about 50–60%, but said procurement was concentrated in the third and fourth quarters. To avoid repeating the delay in 2027, DICT planned to begin advance procurement in October. Aguda accepted the pressure to use fiscal space responsibly so funds would not be taken from agencies that could use them more effectively.

World Bank-funded Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project schedule: Montes asked for the status of the World Bank loan-funded Philippine Digital Infrastructure Project (PDIP), which is intended to complete the Visayas and Mindanao links in the National Fiber Backbone. Assistant Secretary Pinky T. Jimenez said utilization against PHP4.8 billion was only 0.54%. She attributed the delay to differences between World Bank procurement rules and local practice and two failed bidding rounds. Jimenez said DICT and the World Bank had worked through the issues and agreed on a way to recognize local bidders. She projected utilization of 45% by October and 80% by December 2026. She said the project remained scheduled through 2028 and was six months delayed because of procurement and implementation after the failed bids.

UISG service without a renewed contract and COA-directed payment: Montes asked about a COA decision to pay a UISG service provider despite the absence of a current contract. Asiddao said the service related to a 2022 or 2023 contract that was not renewed, but the provider continued service at the direction of DICT officials without a renewal or subsequent bidding. The provider filed a money claim with the Commission on Audit (COA), which directed DICT to pay for services rendered outside the contract and not yet paid. DICT sought additional funds from the DBM and, Asiddao said, the amount had already been paid. Montes called the case a dangerous precedent and asked whether the current administration had up-to-date contracts and payments. Aguda said all current services were contracted, DICT made no further exceptions for unrenewed contracts, and so far it had no similar problem. He said renewals should be processed in the middle of a contract term rather than in its final month, when documentation problems could arise.

Free Wi-Fi cost benchmarking: Rep. Brian Poe cited DICT's slide figure of PHP22.4 per unique beneficiary per month for free Wi-Fi connectivity and asked how much ASEAN neighbors spend per citizen on comparable programs. He requested a written comparison for his office, explaining that the benchmark would help him assess and defend the investment in free Wi-Fi. DICT was not asked to answer immediately, and no comparison was provided in this exchange.

Support for DICT digitalization funding: Rep. Salvador A. Pleyto said he had no question, but expressed support for the Department of Information and Communications Technology's proposed FY 2027 budget. Speaking as a senior citizen who said he was no longer technically inclined, he argued that the country had to adapt to an increasingly digitalized world and commended DICT's efforts to make government services more accessible and convenient. He urged his colleagues on the Appropriations Committee to increase DICT's funding, especially for digitalization.The appeal specified no amount and was not put to a vote.

DICT budget classification under the Office of the Secretary: Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc asked why about 90% of DICT's budget appeared under the Office of the Secretary and whether personnel services were also classified there. Aguda said DICT had long placed most of its budget there because projects were classified that way, and confirmed this was the department's established practice.

Rural connectivity and Butuan digital transformation center funding: Rep. Jose "Joboy" S. Aquino II commended the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and its regional director for extending connectivity to remote barangays in his district. He said he had recently visited 15 rural schools to hear what residents needed. He urged help for his seatmate, Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc. For his own district, Aquino cited a PHP5 million request for construction of the Butuan Digital Transformation Center, Phase 2. Aquino said he was not asking DICT to provide that money and offered to help the Secretary find funding. He also expressed support for approval of DICT's proposed budget. The center amount was a project funding appeal, not an appropriation or confirmation that funding had been approved.

DICT FY2027 comparison and request for priorities: Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez asked why DICT's FY2027 budget had fallen from FY2026. He cited a PHP133 million decrease in the presentation's comparison of the FY2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA) with FY2027, then characterized DICT's proposal as PHP1.8 billion for capacity building and other items with a PHP1.1 billion reduction. These are figures Rodriguez cited while questioning the comparison, not a reconciled statement of DICT's total request or department-wide appropriations. He asked Secretary Aguda for the department's priority wish list. Aguda requested permission to submit it in writing; Rodriguez agreed, while emphasizing fiscal space and the need to limit requests.

DICT additional wish list: Asked to estimate the additional amount DICT would seek, Aguda said it might be less than PHP1 billion. Rodriguez repeated that estimate and invited the attached agencies to state their needs. This was a tentative wish-list estimate, not an approved increase.

DICT funding for Konektadong Pinoy implementation: DICT Undersecretary for Policy, Legal, and Communications Sarah Maria Q. Sison said DICT needed PHP50 million to implement the Konektadong Pinoy Act. Rodriguez called the amount reasonable and asked that the request be included in the written list; that response was not an appropriation approval.

Rodriguez's attached-agency augmentation motion: Rodriguez said he would move for approval of the NEP budgets of DICT and its attached agencies with augmentation of at least PHP1 billion, then made the motion. Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe said the committee would take it up at the proper time and expressed support for Rodriguez's support of DICT. The motion was deferred for later consideration, not approved in this exchange.

Restoring non-operational Wi-Fi sites and service contracts: Rep. Caroline B. Agyao distinguished installing Wi-Fi access points from maintaining reliable connectivity and asked how many sites were operational and what DICT spent per site on maintenance. Aguda said some barangay sites had lost service and referred the detailed response to Guingcangco. He explained that DICT lengthened service-contract terms because studies found lower per-location costs with longer contracts; a four-month service term was less preferable than a 12-month term. Because the old contracts could not be extended, DICT was procuring new service and expected connectivity to return as restoration continued. The response explained the procurement approach but did not give the per-site maintenance amount Agyao asked for.

Connectivity augmentation support and bundled power supplies: Agyao supported adding PHP1 billion for communications, especially in signal-poor areas of the Cordillera and Kalinga, and hoped it would be added during plenary. Her statement supported Rodriguez's earlier proposal; it was not a new motion, and the exchange did not approve an appropriation. She also urged DICT to include power supply with equipment for remote sites, and Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe endorsed the policy point without stating or approving a funding amount for it.

School connectivity and support for DICT funding: Rep. Javier Miguel Lopez Benitez said Starlink connectivity was already helping public schools, particularly in addressing the learning crisis. Based on his own experience when there was no interference, he reported upload and download speeds of 200–250 Mbps. Benitez said he supported Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez's proposal for at least ₱1 billion. This was Benitez's expression of support for Rodriguez's request, not a new approval or disposition of the separate motion.

eGov ownership, per-user cost, staffing, and cloud services: Aguda said the government owned eGov and was the custodian of its source code. Asked for monthly active users, Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. cited 61 million downloads and 56 million unique users, about 70,000–100,000 downloads a day, and around 3 million monthly downloads. That answered with download counts rather than a monthly active-user count. He estimated the platform's cost at about ₱9 per user when comparing its current budget with its users; he did not give a per-transaction or monthly cost. Almirol said DICT develops eGov in-house, paying its own staff, with more than 30 programmers and no contractors for development and research and development. He clarified that DICT does pay subscriptions for storage, cloud, service security, and other non-developer expenses. The public cloud services were stored in Singapore; he said about 80% used Amazon Web Services (AWS), with other services on Google Cloud and in existing colocations. Asked about sovereign data centers, Almirol said local government ownership and management was the ideal.

CICC Cybercrime Response Center resources: Elago asked whether DICT and CICC had enough funding and capacity to develop a center to meet the cybercrime challenge. CICC Executive Director Renato A. Paraiso said existing resources were sufficient for the center's current mandate, but it could do more to protect young people and women from online violence with additional tools and staff. He said CICC had asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to approve requests, though the request details in his answer were unclear. Elago said the NEP did not fund the Cybercrime Response Center's proposed subscriptions to investigative tools, specialized investigation training and additional personnel, and argued that strengthening the center was necessary to combat gender-based violence. No specific request amount or approval was stated in this exchange.

CICC additional support request: Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Renato A. Paraiso said additional House support could help CICC improve its work and expand capacity; he put its wish list at about PHP450 million. Rodriguez moved on to the next agency without recording a disposition on this request.

National Privacy Commission budget, outputs and capital outlay: Padiernos compared the National Privacy Commission's (NPC) PHP440 million FY2026 total spending program with its higher FY2027 NEP and questioned why the NEP output figures appeared lower despite the increase. NPC Privacy Commissioner Johann Carlos S. Barcena said the 2026 and 2027 targets were actually the same, while the higher 2027 NEP would support outputs not reflected in those NEP targets: expanding breach-monitoring coverage from 20 to 50 websites and improving personal-information-controller registration. Registration validation then took about seven days; NPC aimed to reduce it to three days, or one day where possible, through automation. Barcena said NPC had 17,000 registered controllers compared with about 700,000 registered companies at the Securities and Exchange Commission. Asked about PHP83 million unused in FY2025, he said much was capital outlay released late that year; after securing a long-term lease and completing competitive procurement, about PHP37 million was intended for fit-out, but the contractor backed out and that component remained unutilized.

NPC additional budget request: National Privacy Commission (NPC) Privacy Commissioner Johann Carlos S. Barcena said NPC was requesting less than PHP200 million in additional funding. No approval or disposition was recorded in this exchange.

NTC additional budget request: National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Ella Blanca B. Lopez said NTC was requesting about PHP300 million in additional budget. No approval or disposition was recorded in this exchange.

DICT strategy: inclusive connectivity, secure services, and digital skills: DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda framed the department's FY2027 direction around a digital-first economy, inclusive technology, cybersecurity and data privacy, and more transparent, responsive government. He said connectivity should reach geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas and accompany safer online services; government systems such as the eGov app and eLGU should make public services easier to access. The department's stated measure of digital transformation was whether people can reach and feel its benefits.

Presentation video: connectivity and public services: The presentation video described connectivity as necessary for remote communities, schools and under-resourced agencies. Speakers contrasted Wi-Fi with relying on phone data or travelling to higher ground for a signal, and described communications equipment as useful during crises to locate people needing help.

Telecom investment following Konektadong Pinoy: Aguda credited the Konektadong Pinoy Act with affecting the telecommunications industry and said industry committed investment for the year was US$2.4 billion, within an expected range of US$2 billion to US$3 billion. He explicitly said this investment was not included in DICT's budget.

Digital government and telecommunications reforms: Aguda said the E-Governance Act would allow government service improvements to proceed at full speed. He also thanked Congress for the Konektadong Pinoy Act and called for continued attention to cybersecurity and social-media issues. Undersecretary for Support Services Heherson M. Asiddao later said the eGov Super App had more than 61 million downloads, over 56 million verified accounts, more than 1.2 billion eGovDX transactions, and 1,332 integrated government e-services; he also cited digital national ID issuance and transactions. He described the e-Governance Act and its implementing rules as institutionalizing digital government. Asiddao said streamlined permitting, longer regulatory validity, infrastructure sharing, and open access accompanied growth in telecommunications towers and connected Filipinos, and that the Konektadong Pinoy Act would build on these gains through competition, infrastructure sharing, and more efficient network deployment.

Internet access and service delivery gains: Asiddao said mobile download speeds had more than doubled since 2022 and fixed broadband speeds had improved, while more data was available for each peso spent. He reported that internet use rose from 25.4% in 2019 to about 67% in 2024 and household internet access from 17.7% to about 48.8%. He said a digital portal reduced a manual process that averaged three months to about five days and had 1,400 registered drivers nationwide as of May 2026.

Cyber monitoring and digital skills: Asiddao said the NSOC cyber-monitoring service expanded funded coverage from 10 government agencies in 2022 to 99 by August 2026 and had monitored about 6.7 billion security alerts. He said investment in a next-generation hybrid NSOC would sustain round-the-clock protection across government agencies. DICT also reported reaching about 695,000 people from 2022 to 2026 with free ICT training in artificial intelligence, emerging technologies, cybersecurity, digital work, entrepreneurship, and digital literacy, using Digital Transformation Centers and SPARC; support had helped form 35 local freelancer organizations.

Connectivity and protection of government data: Opening the FY2027 National Expenditure Program (NEP) review, presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe said the committee would test whether reported connectivity reaches people as reliable, usable and affordable service, particularly in schools. He also raised where sensitive government data is stored, who controls the infrastructure carrying it and what safeguards protect it, framing cybersecurity as a national-security concern. Poe said artificial intelligence could make government faster and support education, health, disaster response, agriculture and business, but raised risks from deepfakes, automated fraud, privacy, cybersecurity, accountability and disruption of Filipino jobs. He urged the Philippines to use and govern AI responsibly and create opportunities for Filipino workers and businesses, alongside more transparent digital government. He invited the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to present its proposal for detailed questioning.

Online harm referrals and requested follow-up: Poe cited complaints about harmful social-media content, including fabricated stories, altered images and AI-generated content. He separately identified 197 Facebook links referred by Rep. Atty. Miro S. Quimbo?s office concerning former Representative Stella Quimbo and her family. He said the material had been monitored and preserved, but remained online after Meta found no Community Standards violation. Poe turned the consolidated complaints and supporting materials over to DICT and the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), also furnished Meta a copy, and asked the agencies to report actions taken, pending matters, possible next steps and gaps in their response. He asked Meta to explain referral dispositions and available review or escalation routes. Poe cautioned that government should not arbitrate opinions, while calling for effective responses to unlawful conduct consistent with expression and due process.

Free public Wi-Fi reach and school coverage: Rep. Renee Louise M. Co asked how the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) was measuring beneficiaries under the Free Public Internet Access Act (RA 10929), noting reported targets of 10.2 million individual beneficiaries for 2026 and 4.5 million users for 2027 against a 15.8 million target set in 2025. DICT Assistant Secretary Christian Mark G. Guingcangco said the department counted unique users connecting to free public internet: its August 31 report showed about 10.37 million users across 11,836 locations and 29,091 operational access points. Co observed that this was below the earlier 15.8 million target. Guingcangco said projects nearing post-qualification and award would add access points at public markets, tourist spots, schools and rural health units; he described a 15 million year-end aim. When Co asked whether the 15.8 million target remained, he answered yes. On school coverage, he reported 99.39% of 45,328 Department of Education (DepEd) schools connected as of August 31, with a first phase to connect 220 state universities and colleges (SUCs) and the balance planned for the following year. Co requested a list of unconnected schools and SUCs and priority markets or public areas; Guingcangco said DICT would comply. Co said she wanted continuing checks on implementation and delivery of connectivity to young people, describing access to information as the right at stake.

National-ID age checks, platform integration and privacy: Co asked DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda for its plan for social-media registration amid concerns raised by rights groups and in light of school violence. Aguda described discussions with Meta and Roblox, with the National Privacy Commission, National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and DepEd. He said Roblox needed more accurate age checks: its facial-recognition tool could estimate age within one or two years, while its user groups were nine and below, ages nine to sixteen, and sixteen and above. He described a proposed national-ID verification API in which Roblox would ask the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) to confirm a user's identity and age with a yes-or-no response, without transferring personal information from PSA to Roblox. Aguda said Meta could use the approach for age checks and age-appropriate content if it worked for Roblox. Co raised Meta's statement that integration with the Philippine national ID posed technical complexity. Aguda said this would be the first such integration with a sovereign national ID and that Meta planned to send a technical team within two weeks to study it; Roblox had suggested the national-ID approach, and success could provide a technical and policy template for other platforms. Co then cited the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group's view that SIM registration had not stopped cybercrime and scams using registered SIM cards. Aguda agreed the law had not fulfilled its full promise, though he said it had helped banks against identity-misuse schemes for a time. He attributed the weakness to the many accepted IDs and said DICT and NTC were considering limiting verification to the national ID, passport and driver's license; the plan for platform age and identity checks was to rely on the national ID. In her closing manifestation, Co said DICT's current position was that personal data would remain with government and only verification details would be provided. She sought further safeguards and said the policy remained in dialogue and was not yet certain, with privacy protection as the objective.

Roblox compliance and Meta enforcement timeline: Rep. Ann Matibag asked when Meta and Roblox would establish Philippine offices so they would be subject to Philippine law. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said Roblox had until October to complete five requirements: separate age-based platform experiences, monitor children’s chats for harmful keywords, make parental controls the default, establish a Philippine office, and provide age verification through the national ID. He said Roblox had shared that a partner had hired 300 people, opened an office in Singapore with five employees, and planned to establish its Philippine office next. The national-ID age-verification requirement remained outstanding. On Meta, Aguda described a commitment on enforcement and attribution so authorities could identify people behind unlawful Facebook activity. He expected Meta representatives to arrive the following week with a working group involving the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and police; he said the Philippine-office issue was slower and that Meta might comply or miss its deadline before year-end. Matibag pressed for a local office and raised whether Meta should otherwise be banned.

Child online safety and agency coordination: Matibag asked how the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) coordinated with law-enforcement and child-welfare agencies to respond to online sexual exploitation, grooming, cyberbullying and other digital violence affecting children. Aguda said DICT was monitoring Meta and that its Philippine office needed authority to make more decisions, then referred the coordination question to Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) Executive Director Renato A. Paraiso. Paraiso said the CICC executive committee included the Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group, NBI and Department of Justice; he added that the Threat Monitoring Center was operational, training law-enforcement members and bringing agencies, private-sector partners and advocacy groups together to respond to detected scams and online crime. Matibag had also cited House Resolution No. 900’s inquiry into child sexual abuse and exploitation and related materials, and her concern for children’s safety and mental health.

Poe urges DICT to press Meta on platform safety: Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe agreed with Rep. Ann Matibag's concerns and said the Philippines should use its audience size to press Meta for stronger engagement. Poe characterized the Philippines as Meta's fifth-largest audience, accounting for 3% of its online population, or one in every 32 users. He contrasted this with what he described as the Philippines' number 12 ranking and 1.7% share of X's users: after the Philippines threatened to shut down X over allowed content, he said, X responded with stronger safety guidelines and regulations. Poe urged the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to take a firmer position with Meta, arguing that the platform influences children and national political discourse and that the issue concerns sovereignty and the country's future. This was Poe's call for stronger engagement; no ban or other action was approved in this intervention.

Text scams, enforcement coordination and identity safeguards: Rep. Sarah Jane I. Elago cited 15,507 text-scam or spam complaints acted on by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), but said scams persisted, including fake traffic-violation notices spoofing the Land Transportation Office (LTO), and asked how agencies would coordinate to stop them. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said the SIM Registration Act needed stronger identity checks because fraudulent IDs remained in use even after telcos improved registration-photo procedures at NTC's urging. NTC Commissioner Ella Blanca B. Lopez explained that NTC's reported figure came from its consumer hotline, while complaints sent to the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center (CICC) and other agencies made the agencies? totals differ. She said LTO-impersonation texts could be sent through an signal-catcher device that captured a range of cellphone numbers and broadcast links to fake sites designed to collect subscriber information. Asked about investigations and accountability, Lopez reported an arrest the previous week and said details were still being processed for case-building, with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), NTC, CICC, DICT and Philippine National Police (PNP) working toward prosecution. She did not report a prosecution outcome. Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe asked DICT what IDs should be accepted; Aguda favored the national ID, saying it could link bank-account and SIM verification to one identity record, and described a proposed law amendment to limit recognized IDs and SIMs per person. Poe requested DICT's official position paper, and Aguda agreed to submit one. In a later interruption within the same ID discussion, Rep. Richard I. Gomez questioned why valid IDs issued by many agencies should be excluded. Aguda said SIM registration's 17-ID list could be reduced to three, or the full set could remain if each ID's identity details were digitally verifiable against the national ID. He distinguished a firearms license, which could stand on its own, from verification of the holder's name and age; he said a digital check could take seconds and suggested a QR-code route when the issuing agency's digital ID system connected to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The exchange left the choice between a shorter list and broader IDs with national-ID verification as alternatives, rather than recording a final adopted rule.

Training pathways and digital-economy employment: Elago asked how many people trained by DICT had gained decent jobs. Aguirre said the Digital Workforce Hub had not yet launched and was scheduled to launch that Wednesday. Employers would post detailed vacancies and jobseekers could create free accounts and upload CVs; the platform would use artificial intelligence to analyze CVs, match applicants to jobs, identify skill gaps and direct them to DICT courses, partner learning systems and micro-credentials. Aguirre said DICT could not reliably track employment outcomes from earlier training because participants were not required to report when they found jobs, and that the Hub was intended to address that gap. Elago noted a rise in the Industry Development Program's target for participation in the digital economy, from 94,778 for 2026 to 631,251 for the following year. Aguirre attributed part of the increase to the expected Hub impact and described a shift from primarily face-to-face delivery to online projects and toolkits distributed through local governments and partner institutions. The toolkits covered micro, small and medium enterprises, Lakbay Likha alternative livelihoods, freelancers, and tax compliance and registration materials developed with the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). Elago also urged DICT to prioritize locally developed software and platforms so Filipinos could use technologies made for local needs.

Survivor referrals and confidential case information: Elago asked for progress on an integrated e-government system to handle information about survivors of violence against women and children without making them repeatedly recount traumatic experiences, and to protect privacy and confidentiality. DICT Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. described an e-report feature in the eGov platform: reports are routed to the responsible agencies, including CICC for scams. The unified platform receives reports, while the agency responsible for each case retains responsibility for response and data. Elago agreed that reporting channels existed but said intervention tracking, referrals and survivor support services still needed to be coordinated so help reached people quickly. She cited legislation addressing technology-facilitated gender-based violence: the expanded Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children measure defining TF-VAW, the revised anti-OSAEC and CSAEM bill, and the Strengthened Safe Spaces bill, which she said was due to reach plenary and would address artificial intelligence (AI)-generated non-consensual image abuse and other ICT-facilitated gender violence.

National ID registration and privacy safeguards: Rep. Antonio L. Tinio said about 80% of people were registered in the national ID system, leaving about 20% without an ID, and asked how they would be included. He also questioned linking Meta verification to the ID because of privacy and surveillance risks. DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said the Philippine Statistics Authority was continuing registration, including for children aged five and under, people in geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, and Filipinos abroad, and expected completion within two years. He referred privacy and surveillance questions to the National Privacy Commission (NPC). Privacy Commissioner Johann Carlos S. Barcena said risks still needed to be addressed, including what information would be shared with Meta, how the system would connect to the government database, security against breaches, and government access to account-holder information. He said these issues required extensive public consultation. Aguda said, to his understanding, the Philippines would be the first country to integrate the Sovereign ID into Meta’s platform.

EO 119, government data and residency rules: Tinio asked how Executive Order No. 119 (EO 119) defined data sovereignty and whether promoting it fell within DICT’s mandate. Undersecretary for Policy, Legal, and Communications Sarah Maria Q. Sison said EO 119 concerned government data, not commercial or private data, and that the department had committed this scope would not change. She said top-secret information and other national-security classified data would remain in the Philippines; lower-tier data could be contracted out while remaining under Philippine jurisdiction. When Tinio asked how sovereignty applied to Filipinos’ data held abroad, Sison cited encryption standards and a rigorous contractor certification process to accompany implementing guidelines that were forthcoming. Undersecretary David Almirol Jr. added that about 80% of data was outside the Philippines and that government’s use of foreign cloud services motivated efforts to bring data onshore and reduce duplicated records across agencies.

Privacy and lawful basis for an official’s personal vlog: Tinio asked whether a Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) official’s video of a teacher’s traffic arrest violated the teacher’s privacy, and whether officials could use personal vlogs while performing public duties. Tinio said the MMDA had reportedly allowed the officials involved to vlog personally because of their reach. Barcena said no formal complaint had been filed with the NPC about the incident, so he would not prejudge a possible complaint. He explained that capturing a video and uploading it are separate processing activities, each requiring a lawful basis. Whether the video was on an official MMDA channel or an individual’s personal vlog, and whether the upload was proportionate to its public-education purpose, mattered; he noted the teacher’s image had been blurred. He said the responsible agency would need to show a lawful basis under the Data Privacy Act and its rules.

National age-verification standard for online gaming: Vergara asked whether the country needed a clearer national standard for age verification by online-gaming users, after raising age verification, parental controls and coordination with gaming platforms, telecommunications companies and internet service providers as ways to protect minors online. Aguda agreed that rules should clarify which games are suitable for each age and recommended clarifying the age-verification standard.

SIM registration validation and its cost: Catulpos asked which NTC proposals sent to the House in 2024 were being implemented, including per-person SIM ownership limits, a telco ID-validation platform and personal appearance requirements, and asked the platform's cost. DICT referred the question to NTC Deputy Commissioner Alvin Bernard N. Blanco. Blanco said NTC had initiated technical methods to validate SIM registrants and, with DICT, was reviewing the IDs accepted in the registration process. He described budgets as part of the usual process for reviewing and updating the law, but did not give a cost for the validation platform or confirm whether the proposed personal-appearance requirement was being implemented.

Konektadong Pinoy registrations and SOCCSKSARGEN status: On the Konektadong Pinoy Law, Catulpos asked how many data-transmission participants had registered and were operating, including in SOCCSKSARGEN (Region XII). Blanco said NTC had issued several registrations, mostly reclassifying existing value-added service (VAS) operators as data transmission industry participants (DTIPs), and had issued 46 new DTIPs for new registrants. More than 600 existing VAS operators had transitioned, while about 1,300 remained in transition. Asked about SOCCSKSARGEN, Blanco said initial information showed none there yet, but promised to check again. The exchange gives registration and transition totals, but not a separate count of newly registered operators already operating in the region.

eGov source code and agency responsibility for data security: De Jesus pressed DICT on how eGov and government data would be protected from hackers. Almirol said the eGov source code is held by DICT, while the underlying records remain decentralized with the agencies that own them, such as the Philippine Statistics Authority for national ID data and the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) for health data; those agencies are responsible for protecting their records, and DICT does not access them. He said the eGov DX data-exchange platform integrates government systems to avoid recapturing or duplicating information. Almirol cited double-layer encryption for eGov and expressed confidence in that system, but said DICT could not assure the security of other agencies’ decentralized data. He identified the DICT Cybersecurity Bureau as the office providing cybersecurity training and assistance to agencies.

Household internet access and affordability: Rep. Jan "Atty. JP" Padiernos cited Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) figures showing home internet access in 48.8% of households in 2024, with rates of 68.7% in the National Capital Region, 21.2% in the Zamboanga Peninsula and 27.7% in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; 58.3% of households without home internet cited subscription cost. He asked what outcomes and regional access, speed, latency, reliability and price targets the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) would deliver in 2027. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda agreed with the statistics, credited expanded telco investment after the Konektadong Pinoy Act and said prepaid prices had fallen. As an affordability example, he cited a PHP99-per-week prepaid option, down from more than PHP100, and said DICT would submit a detailed 2027 list.

Online-lending complaints and privacy enforcement: Padiernos asked how many of the 47,446 online-lending complaints reported by the Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Commission from August 2024 through January 2026 reached NPC and what enforcement followed. Barcena described a joint public advisory by NPC, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and DICT reminding borrowers of their data-subject rights and platforms of their duties, particularly regarding access to borrowers' contact lists. He said NPC's online-lending case volume had tapered from the pandemic-period peak and promised to provide specific NPC case counts for 2024–2026; the exchange did not give those counts.

Broadband price targets versus blended per-gigabyte cost: Montes cited DICT's earlier public targets: a 50% reduction in internet costs by 2028 while serving 10,875 underserved barangays, followed by a 2026 target of a 40–80% reduction in broadband prices. Aguda said the reported reduction reflected Congress's legislation and telco participation and measured blended cost per gigabyte across fiber, mobile, and satellite. He reported a 92.5% lower per-gigabyte cost, from PHP149 to PHP11.19 per gigabyte. Montes distinguished that measure from what households felt at retail, saying the lower prices were not yet strongly felt and she would wait until 2028 to assess the commitment. The per-gigabyte blended cost and the cited retail broadband-price targets are different measures.

NGCP operational data and privacy boundaries: Rep. Sergio C. Dagooc asked whether the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) could access operational data held by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP). Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said DICT currently had no access, but would perform oversight if Congress and the Senate directed it, describing the grid as critical infrastructure. Asked how data access interacts with privacy law, National Privacy Commission (NPC) Privacy Commissioner Johann Carlos S. Barcena distinguished personal information about individuals, which is covered by the Data Privacy Act, from non-personal operational statistics such as plant outage data. He said, in his view, government should have visibility into data held by its concessionaires. Barcena noted NPC was not familiar with electricity-market operations; he understood wholesale electricity spot-market participants to trade electricity rather than personal data, while distribution utilities may hold customer information covered by the Act. The exchange did not treat operational access as blanket authorization to access personal data.

Connectivity validation and reported Wi-Fi site completion: Dagooc challenged National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) Commissioner Ella Blanca B. Lopez's statement that regional offices regularly validated telco service, citing worsening signal in Siargao and Dinagat despite added sites. Lopez said NTC would check the specific regional situation; Dagooc questioned whether staff based in Butuan or Surigao City could validate island service without going there. Lopez acknowledged the regional office was in Butuan, and Dagooc asked that validation be conducted at the affected locations. Dagooc said that after three years only 31 of 40 planned Wi-Fi connections at barangay halls and schools were complete, and that two reported completed sites had no signal. He asked DICT to verify reported completion by visiting the sites in Dinagat; he did not request an answer at that moment, but asked the agencies to ensure reported results were accurate.

Connectivity in Rodriguez's district: Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez praised DICT Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda and his regional director for connectivity in his district. He said public schools had received free Wi-Fi three years earlier, 80% of barangay halls were connected, and he expected the remaining 20% to be connected; he also supported the rural-health-unit program and cited more than 24 health centers in his barangays.

Emergency communications and deployable disaster assets: Rep. Caroline B. Agyao asked how quickly the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) could restore communications in calamity-prone and geographically isolated areas. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said telecom availability fell to about 60% in areas affected by prior disasters, and described coordination with telcos and satellite providers, including generator-backed cell sites. After a Mindanao earthquake, he said 700,000 people connected immediately; during recent flooding, telco availability was about 99.8%, with some providers at 100%. DICT had 17 emergency-response vehicles and facilities, including one stationed at Kanlaon; Assistant Secretary Christian Mark G. Guingcangco specified 24 more vehicles in 2026 and 12 in 2027. Aguda said DICT expected connectivity and communications during disasters to cease being a problem before the end of 2028.

Satellite connectivity, power and remote-site restoration: For remote communities without commercial service, Guingcangco said DICT prioritized Geographically Isolated and Disadvantaged Areas (GIDA), where government fills gaps left by the private sector. Managed-service contracts require repair or restoration within 72 hours, even where crews must hike or cross rivers or sea. DICT's nationwide project covered more than 5,400 schools, where aggregated procurement lowered costs. He said low-Earth-orbit satellite service such as Starlink could remain connected during storms, leaving power as a key vulnerability; he described DepEd's solar-powered installations as sustaining internet for extended periods.

Government data standards and Kadena transparency proposal: Benitez asked whether the government had shared data standards under Executive Order 119 and whether identifiers could follow budget information from the National Expenditure Program (NEP) through allotments and disbursements. Secretary Henry Rhoel Aguda said an inter-agency technical working group would begin meeting that week to craft standards. Benitez then asked whether Kadena, a bill he co-authored, was feasible and what it might cost. Aguda said the proposal was feasible, while cost would depend on legislative choices such as a public or private chain and the extent of implementation. He said uploading an already-published budget to a public chain, as he described Bayani Chain doing with the 2025 budget, was feasible and free. A system tracing funds end-to-end from NEP to expenditure, especially one tokenizing pesos to track their provenance, would take substantial work. Aguda described Kadena as a tool that could increase transparency and minimize or curb corruption depending on implementation, not as a guarantee that corruption would be eliminated.

Digital nomad visa remains in planning: Benitez asked about the digital nomad visa and said he hoped more digital nomads would visit the country. Aguda said DICT was advancing the initiative with the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA). Undersecretary Sarah Maria Q. Sison said the policy office was working with DICT's Cybersecurity Bureau and DFA, but the proposal remained in planning and consultation because of cybersecurity issues. DICT said it would provide an update once it had a timeline.

DICT budget hearing terminated; proceedings suspended: Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez moved to terminate the committee hearing on the FY2027 budget of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) and its attached agencies under House Bill No. 10858. The motion was seconded. Presiding Vice Chair Rep. Brian Poe called for objections, heard none and declared the motion approved. This was approval to terminate the hearing, not approval of Rodriguez's earlier deferred budget-augmentation motion. Poe thanked the participants and suspended proceedings, to resume at 5:45 for the Department of Tourism budget hearing.