Camille Naredo

The Far Eastern University Campus in Manila on March 06, 2020.

The Far Eastern University Campus in Manila on March 06, 2020. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

Article (news)

Far Eastern University

Francis Orcio

ABS-CBN News

MANILA -- Lawmakers are pressing the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) to prioritize the construction of local data centers, warning that the Philippines&#x27; reliance on foreign cloud services exposes the government to both financial and national security risks.During Tuesday&#x27;s House budget deliberations on the 2026 General Appropriations Bill, it was revealed that 90 percent of government data is stored abroad, mostly in Singapore, costing taxpayers around P12 billion annually. Representative Roberto Nazal of the Bagong Henerasyon party list asked if this dependence already constituted a serious security issue. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/technology/2025/9/21/dict-cicc-respond-to-series-of-cyberattacks-on-gov-t-websites-amid-sept-21-rallies-2026">READ: DICT, CICC respond to series of cyberattacks on gov&#x27;t websites amid Sept 21 rallies</a></div>&quot;So, that is already a cyber security issue or a national security issue in itself?&quot; he asked. Representative Brian Poe Llamanzares, who sponsored the DICT&#x27;s proposed budget, agreed. &quot;Yes, Mr. Speaker,&quot; he said. To address the concern, the DICT is seeking P2.5 billion for the construction of three major data centers, with a long-term plan to establish nine facilities worth P7.5 billion. Llamanzares explained that the investment could enhance security while also generating savings. &quot;We&#x27;re spending about P12 billion on cloud services. So there is an opportunity here for us to make this investment over the next three years so that the government can save a total of P36 billion,&quot; he said. The discussion later turned to funding sources. Lawmakers noted that the Spectrum Users Fund (SUF), which has a balance of P21 billion, could be tapped to support the project. Nazal pushed the point further. &quot;Why not use the funds now? Since you already have it. If we&#x27;re going to get it from the NEP, from the GAA, Mr. Sponsor, we&#x27;re just going to borrow that money. And we&#x27;ll be paying interest for that when the money is already here,&quot; he said. The SUF, created in 2018, has collected P41 billion since its establishment. It is mainly allocated for the government&#x27;s free Wi-Fi program, which requires around P7.5 billion annually to maintain, even though spectrum fee collections average only P6 billion per year. Llamanzares acknowledged the suggestion but pointed to challenges. &quot;If there&#x27;s 22 billion sitting in this fund, and there is a bad need for these data centers, why not consider the data centers? And that&#x27;s something that we can take up. But before we go into that, I think the DICT has a pressing commitment by October to deliver these free Wi-Fi sites to the Filipino people,&quot; he said. He also reminded lawmakers about DICT&#x27;s absorptive capacity. &quot;A big concern is the absorptive capacity of DICT. Part of the reason is that DICT only until recently had very low utilization [of the budget]. It&#x27;s only as of 2024 that we&#x27;re already at 87%, and that by 2025, we&#x27;re aiming to hit 93%,&quot; he said. The deliberation also highlighted growing cyber threats, as Nazal said that the DICT confirmed 1.4 million hacking attempts on government websites over a single weekend. Officials said many agencies still rely on outdated systems, underscoring the need to secure sensitive government data within the country&#x27;s borders.

Lawmakers are pressing the Department of Information and Communications Technology to prioritize the construction of local data centers, warning that the Philippines' reliance on foreign cloud services exposes the government to both financial and national security risks.

Lawmakers are pressing the Department of Information and Communications Technology to prioritize the construction of local data centers, warning that the Philippines' reliance on foreign cloud services exposes the government to both financial and national security risks.

Lawmakers warn of national security risk with 90% of government data stored abroad

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Lawmakers warn of national security risk with 90% of government data stored abroad

Francis Orcio,

ABS-CBN News

Published October 01, 2025 01:15 AM PHT

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Department of Information and Communications Technology

DICT

budget

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