Malacanang defended on Tuesday the appointment of former Senator Gregorio Honasan as secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology ( DICT).

Under the DICT Law, the secretary, undersecretary or assistant secretary of the department shall have 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.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said when Honasan joined the Cabinet meeting for the first time since he took his oath of office on Monday afternoon, the former senator said while he was not an expert on ICT, his appointment was as an administrator.

“'I was appointed not on my expertise on this line. I was appointed as a manager, as an administrator'," Panelo quoting Honasan in a press briefing.

Panelo noted Honasan took a degree in management at the Asian Institute of Management.

"What is a department? You have to have expertise in managing the department," he said.

Honasan replaced Eliseo Rio, an ICT expert. Rio was appointed as an undersecretary of DICT. Celerina Monte/DMS