The Private Sector Advisory Council (PSAC) has endorsed to the Marcos administration the approval of several bills that aim to fortify the country’s defense against cyber threats and help strengthen the digital infrastructure.
The PSAC Digital Infrastructure is also pushing for an executive order mandating minimum information security standards for critical information infrastructure in alignment with the National Cybersecurity Plan to enhance the resilience of vital systems against potential cyber intrusions.
Sabin Aboitiz, PSAC lead convenor and Aboitiz Group president and chief executive officer, and Henry Aguda, PSAC-Digital Infrastructure Sector lead, had presented these key recommendations to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to bolster the country’s cyber defenses.
“In our meeting with the President, we underscored the critical need for proactive measures to safeguard our nation’s critical information infrastructure. The recommendations we presented to President Marcos aim to fortify our defenses against evolving cyber threats, ensuring the resilience and security of our digital landscape,” Aguda said in a statement.
Highlighting the urgency, the council stressed the certification of Senate Bill (SB) No. 1365, the Cybersecurity Act, and SB 2039 or the Anti-Mule Act as priority legislation.
These bills hold substantial potential to fortify cybersecurity’s legal framework and combat financial cybercrimes, the PSAC added.
In response, President Marcos acknowledged the urgency.
“It looks like there is a great need for structural requirements in legislation… Let me work on the Cybersecurity Act, Anti-Mule, and the Online Site Blocking Act. We’ll see how far along these are… We will talk with the leadership of the Legislature and see how we can move it along quickly,” he said.
“I think that is basically what we are learning; we shouldn’t be shy about outsourcing because we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, which is being reinvented every day,” Marcos added.
The council fully supported the Department of Information and Communications Technology to combat fraud and financial cyber threats to establish a Multi-Sectoral Technical Working Group. This initiative will focus on creating a Mobile Device Database and Anti-Financial Crimes Command Center, it said. – Myla Iglesias
