Following the hacking on various government agencies, the House of Representatives said it will work with the Senate to find more sources of funds to increase the Department of Information and Communications Technology’s (DICT) budget for 2024.

“We will work with our colleagues in the Senate to look for more sources of funds for the Department of Information and Communication Technology,” House Committee on Appropriations chairperson and Ako Bicol Partylist Rep. Elizaldy Co said in a statement.

The DICT is seeking a budget of P8.729 billion for 2024.

The House of Representatives, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) have experienced cyberattacks. The House's website normalized around 5 pm.

Assistant Information and Communications Technology Secretary Aboy Paraiso said the department is ''pursuing leads on possible local threat actors in the case of the House of Representatives because of the style and language used in the defacement of the website.''

Senator Grace Poe said the DICT and other relevant agencies should put a halt to the “hacking spree of government websites”.

“We cannot continue business as usual and wait for the next victim of a data breach, which is why we must put a stop to the hacking and hold the perpetrators accountable,” she said.

For her part, Senator Risa Hontiveros filed Senate Resolution 829 which calls on lawmakers to probe the recent hacking incidents in government agencies.

Co said the panel recognizes the department’s “dire need” for equipment to fight cybercrime and ransomware attacks.

“For the continuing ransomware attacks, we convey to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the urgent need for additional funds for the DICT and for government agencies being attacked and vulnerable to cyberattack,” Co said.

Co said the additional funds could be sourced from savings of the government agencies or the unprogrammed funds of the 2023 budget.

He emphasized that there will be no confidential and intelligence funds in the budget augmentation of the DICT.

“For immediate 2023 needs, the only available funding flexibility would be the Unprogrammed Funds, which is basically under the ambit of the DBM. It would be up to the DICT to ask the DBM how much it needs for its ongoing fight against the hackers and to quickly build defenses against cyberattacks in priority vulnerable agencies,” he said,

“For the 2024 budget, the House must work together with the Senate. It would be best if the DICT tells or informs Congress how much in additional funds would be needed and can be spent considering absorptive capacity for the MOOE ( Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses) and PS items of its three major budgeted programs and for the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordination Center,” he added. Jaspearl Tan/DMS