Duterte accepts DICT Usec Rio’s resignation

MANILA, Philippines – Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque confirmed on Friday that President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted the resignation of Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Undersecretary Eliseo Rio, Jr. 

“The Palace thanks Usec. Rio for his invaluable services to the nation and we wish him well in all his future endeavours” Roque said in a statement.

Rio passed his resignation on January 31 questioning the use of P300 million by Secretary Gringo Honasan as cash advance for his confidential and intelligence funds. The fund was intended for improvements of the country’s cybersecurity arrangements.

Rio later retracted his allegation in a joint statement with Honasan, saying he resigned because of “personal reasons, and not due to any rift with the Secretary, nor to any anomaly in the Confidential Expense."

Rio is a licensed Electronics and Communication Engineer and was formerly a brigadier general in the Philippine Army. After he retired from military service, he was appointed to the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) in 2001 and was appointed as DICT undersecretary in 2016.