President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. appointed Undersecretary Paul Mercado as the officer-in-charge of the Department of Information and Communication Technology (DICT) following the resignation of former Secretary Ivan Uy last March 6.

Palace Press Officer and Undersecretary Claire Castro said ''no reason has been mentioned as to why Secretary Ivan Uy resigned.''

Uy was one of the first appointees to Marcos' Cabinet. He follows several others who had left the Cabinet this year.

Meanwhile, the DICT said it will overhaul the free wi-fi program. The department has set aside about P6.5 billion yearly to give internet access to more than 7,000 locations. DMS/Marie Manalili