DICT Secretary Ivan John Uy resigns
Ivan John Uy —SENATE PRIB
MANILA, Philippines — Secretary Ivan John Uy of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has resigned—the third member of the Marcos Cabinet to leave in less than a month.
“DICT Sec. Ivan John Uy’s resignation was accepted by the President today,” said Presidential Communications Office (PCO) Undersecretary and Palace Press Officer Claire Castro in a message to reporters on Thursday night.
“An officer in charge will fill the position until the President appoints a secretary,” Castro added.
No reason was given for Uy’s resignation.
Earlier, Castro said the President was reviewing the Cabinet members’ performance.
Rumors that Uy was on his way out started in February following the resignation of Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, who cited health reasons for his decision to quit.
On Feb. 20, then PCO acting Secretary Cesar Chavez announced that he submitted his irrevocable resignation on Feb. 5 due to his failure to meet expectations.
During his stint as DICT chief, Uy oversaw the mandatory registration of SIM (subscriber identity module) cards for mobile phones, a measure to deter text scams and identity theft.
READ: DICT admits gaps in SIM registration, calls for stricter implementation
READ: DICT seeks to amend cybercrime law as scammers upgrade
It was also under Uy that Starlink Internet Services Philippines Inc., a unit of tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company SpaceX, received a license to operate as an internet service provider in the country.
Last week, Uy announced that the DICT would be launching two more phases of the National Fiber Backbone project.
