TO strengthen the security and resilience of the country's cyberspace, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. issued an executive order (EO) adopting the National Cybersecurity Plan (NCSP) 2023-2028 of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DoCT), Malacañang said Saturday.

In the two-page EO 58 signed on April 4, 2024, by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, Marcos raised the need for a government's "whole-of-nation roadmap" to fortify the country's cyberspace.

"Strengthening the security and resilience of the Philippine cyberspace is one of the key strategies to ensure safety and security in cyber and physical spaces under the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028," the President said in his order.

"The NCSP 2023-2028 is hereby adopted as the whole-of-nation roadmap for the integrated development and strategic direction of the country's cybersecurity," he said.

Under Section 15 of Republic Act 10844 or the DICT Act of 2015, the department formulated the NCSP 2023-2028, which outlines the country's policy direction and provides operational guidelines for a trusted, secured, and resilient cyberspace for every Filipino.

The President also "encouraged" all national government agencies and instrumentalities, government-owned and -controlled corporations, and local government units "to formulate, adopt and implement their cybersecurity plans and strategies, which are relevant to their respective mandates, in accordance with the NCSP 2023-2028."

He also ordered the DICT to "adopt a system for the effective implementation, monitoring, and review of the plan, as well as cooperate with the private sector, if needed, to provide technical assistance to other government agencies and offices relative to the implementation of the NCSP 2023-2028, as may be necessary."

The DICT, in cooperation with the private sector, shall provide "technical assistance to other government agencies and offices relative to the implementation of the NCSP 2023-2028, as may be necessary," the President said.

The DICT is also directed to submit to the President a bi-annual report on the status and progress of the implementation of the NCSP 2023-2028 through the Office of the Executive Secretary and the National Cybersecurity Inter-Agency Committee.

The funding necessary for the implementation of the order will be charged against the current and available budget of concerned agencies, and the funding requirements for succeeding years will be included in the annual General Appropriations Act, according to the EO.

EO 58, made public on Saturday, takes effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette or a newspaper of general circulation.