MANILA, Philippines — One month into the job, technocrat Henry Aguda has shared a preview of what he would like to accomplish as the new Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) secretary.
In this era of hyperscalers, his key priorities are ICT jobs, connectivity, investments and cybersecurity, Aguda told Biz Buzz in a chance interview.
Pretty soon, the ICT veteran is set to launch what he calls as “good vibes” internet policy.
“We need to make the internet a safe haven for better news,” he said.
“Ayokong gamitin ’yung other term (I don’t like to use that other term),” he added.
This clearly means he will run after the troll farms that are spewing fake news and won’t spare those that are propagating scams.
“We need to make sure that the scams are taken out.”
Reuters, quoting a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime research, recently reported that “criminal networks that emerged in Southeast Asia in recent years, opening sprawling compounds housing tens of thousands of workers, many trafficked and forced to scam victims around the world, have evolved into a sophisticated global industry.”
In the Philippines, the mandatory SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration hardly moved the needle, as bad actors have continued to proliferate.
How exactly will the DICT do it? “We have tools, policies that are going to be in place soon,” Aguda said. —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Who’s in; who’s out?
Meanwhile, Aguda has not axed any of the incumbent secretaries, assistant secretaries and directors at the DICT. While he asked all of them to submit courtesy resignations, no action has been taken on any.
Two executives, however, have already opted to return to the private sector, Aguda said.
One of them is Jeffrey Ian Dy, former undersecretary for “infostructure” management, cybersecurity and upskilling.
The other is Alexander Ramos, who headed the Cybercrime Investigation and Coordinating Center, an attached agency of the DICT.
Who else will Aguda bring to the fold?
“They are currently undergoing a vetting process,” Aguda said. “I need a very strong economist. I need a very strong policy and legal person.” —Doris Dumlao-Abadilla
Maya on momentum
Digital bank Maya has started the year on a high note after ending the first quarter in the green, continuing its profitability from the previous year.
The strong performance was supported by its lending activities, disbursing P28 billion in the first quarter. It has extended a total of P120 billion since it started operations.
Nonperforming loan ratio, meanwhile, is just 3.8 percent—or below the industry average.
As of end-March 31, its total deposits stood at P43.6 billion.
“We are proud to deliver strong growth across all our products, continued scaling of our integrated ecosystem and achieving net income profitability in Q1 2025,” Maya Group president Shailesh Baidwan said.
“This reflects the strength of our model—anchored on innovation, disciplined execution and a clear mission to expand access to digital financial services for millions of Filipinos,” he added. —Tyrone Jasper C. Piad
‘Best Renewable Energy Company’
It was almost like a clean sweep for clean power producer Citicore Renewable Energy Corp. (CREC) after bagging numerous awards at Hong Kong-based FinanceAsia’s Best Companies Poll 2025.
While it has yet to switch on its target of 5-gigawatt capacity, CREC already secured gold for “Best Renewable Energy Company” and bronze for “Best Energy Company.”
The group is also among this year’s market winners: bronze for “Best Managed Company,” gold for “Best Small Cap Company,” gold for “Most Committed to DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion),” and silver for Oliver Tan as “Best CEO.”
Tan, president and CEO of CREC, said the recognitions mirror the investing public’s confidence in the firm’s “capability to deliver.”
Currently, its capacity is 285 megawatts from solar facilities. It is slated to fire up its first gigawatt within the year. —Lisbet K. Esmael