President Rodrigo Duterte has nominated Senator Gregorio Honasan II as secretary of Department of Information and Communications Technology ( DICT).

The nomination was made on November 20.

"By virtue hereof, and upon consent by the Commission on Appointments, you may qualify and enter upon the performance of the duties of the office, furnishing this Office and the Civil Service Commission with copies of your oath of office," Duterte said.

Honasan will replace DICT Officer-in-charge Eliseo Rio Jr.

In a press briefing, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said it would be up to the CA to determine if Honasan is qualified in the post.

Republic Act No. 10844, otherwise known as the Department of Information and Communications Technology Act of 2015, provides that one of the qualifications of the DICT secretary shall be with at least seven years of competence and expertise in any of the following: information and communications technology, information technology service management, information security management, cybersecurity, data privacy. e-commerce, or human capital development in the ICT sector.

"It is not for us to decide on that ? it will be the Commission on Appointments. There will be vetting there; there will be shearing, and you will have to respond to questions on his competence," Panelo said.

But he said Honasan was appointed to the post because Duterte has trust and confidence with the senator.

He also said Honasan has integrity and competence.

In his biography posted on the Senate website, Honasan took up economics at the University of the Philippines before entering the Philippine Military Academy. He also took up masters degree in business management at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), where he graduated with distinction, in his masteral thesis.

Honasan became prominent when he was part of a group of young military officers who joined the bloodless coup that prompted then President Ferdinand Marcos, his family and associates to leave the country in 1986. Celerina Monte/DMS