MANILA – Eliseo Rio Jr. has tendered his resignation as undersecretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) due to “internal issues.”
Rio, who led the government’s search for a third telecommunications provider, said in a television interview on Monday that he has submitted his resignation letter to the Malacañang on Jan. 31.
Rio added that he left his post due to some conflicting views with other officials in the agency particularly on millions of pesos in confidential funds lodged with the agency, and apparent friction with new appointees.
“I filed my resignation and awaiting acceptance of the President,” Rio told CNN Philippines. “‘Yung situation sa DICT, I cannot work with the undersecretaries at assistant secretaries eh.”
“They are not involving me. I’m supposed to be Undersecretary of Operations, but they are not involving me in decisions,” he added. “‘Yung operations and intelligence, very close ‘yan so whatever intel, involved talaga ang operations. I might as well get out, sayang ang sweldo para sa akin.”
Rio also contested the need for a P400-million confidential fund for the agency in 2019 – an amount which Secretary Gringo Honasan put back in the DICT’s budget when he was still a senator.
“I just said as far as I’m concerned, DICT does not need any confidential funds. Wala sa mandate namin to conduct surveillance and intelligence activities… I would rather have it given to the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation) and the police,” Rio said.
Rio, a retired Army general, served as acting secretary of the DICT and led the bidding process for the third slot as mobile communications provider in 2018.
He was reassigned as undersecretary in July 2019 when Honasan was appointed as DICT chief. He also served as commissioner of the National Telecommunications Commission from 2001 to 2002 and later on joined Globe subsidiary Bayan Telecommunications as board member.
DICT was created by a law signed by then President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III in May 2016 as the main agency that will craft and promote the national development agenda on telecommunications and information technology, taking the function away from the older Department of Transportation and Communications./PN
