Good morning!

I was asked by the Committee Secretariat to give a message, but I cannot refuse and you will know why later. 

Sir, my only request, kindly sit-down po.  Puwede ba ‘yon?  Meron po akong request kay  Sen. Honosan,  medyo mahaba-haba po ito.      Puwede bang umupo ka muna, Sir.  

My only request, Sir, umupo ka lang medyo mahaba ito.

(At this juncture, the Chairperson requested Secretary Honasan to take his seat)

Mr.  Chair, Sen. Pres. Vicente Sotto III, our CA Vice-Chair, Representative Ronaldo B. Zamora, my honorable colleagues of this august Commission, I am more than honored and privileged to recommend for plenary action, the ad interim appointment of  Mr. Gregorio Ballesteros Honasan II, as Secretary of the newly-created Department of Information, Communications, and Technology or DICT.

As one adage goes, “just as the earth goes through seasons, so does our appointee here, in the course of time, endure seasons,” both in his professional and personal life. Optics have described Secretary Honasan as a rebel,  revolutionary, reformist, and destabilizer, among other less flattering labels.  But according to him, he is “just an ordinary professional soldier thrust into extraordinary circumstances.” 

Even  early  on in his life, Secretary Honasan had  been  destined to take a different storyline.

Known as "Gringo,” almost Bong Go, don’t you know that I'm your long lost nephew?  He is the eldest child of -- anyway, 'yung kwarto n'ya po, nagpalit lang po kami ni Secretary Honasan, nagpalit lang po kami ng kwarto 'yung kwartong iniwan n'ya ako po'ng pumalit at hindi na po magastos dahil 'yong label do'n - 'yung Senator Gringo, tinanggal ko lang 'yung Grin, nasabi nga n'ya kanina, pinalitan ko lang ng Go.  

He is the eldest child of Col. Romeo Honasan and Alice Ballesteros, an educator from Sorsogon. He dreamt of becoming a priest, then a doctor, but was advised by his father to apply instead at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) for a free college education. There, his father said, he would be trained as a cadet and find a noble profession as an officer in the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

But prior to his PMA stint, he spent a year at the University of the Philippines-Diliman taking up B. S. Economics. He later decided to enter the PMA in 1967, topping some 10,000 applicants during the entrance exam.  He was elected President of his class for four years until he graduated in 1971 as Class Baron or First Captain - the highest leadership and aggregate award given by the PMA.  He was also a contender for the Master of the Sword Award, the highest honor for athletics and physical fitness, after setting records in gymnastics and combat sports.

As a lieutenant in the Armed Forces of the Philippines, Secretary Honasan was immediately deployed to Northern Luzon and Mindanao against various  armed groups, including communist rebels, secessionists, criminals, and terrorists.  Leading from the front by example, he was wounded several times in combat.

Secretary Honasan is a bemedalled senior military officer. He earned recognition for gallantry in action, and received three of the nation’s second highest military medals:  the Distinguished Conduct Star, and three Gold Cross Medals, and Wounded Personnel Medals for injuries sustained in combat.  The Philippine Jaycees named him one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in 1985 for military service, only the second soldier in the country’s history to earn such an award.

At   the   age   of   35,  he  became  the youngest  officer  in the history of the Armed Forces then to be promoted to full colonel.  He was also handpicked to serve as aide to the Secretary of National Defense, and later, as Chief of Security. In 1981, he earned his Master’s Degree from the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), where he graduated with distinction for his thesis.

Secretary Honasan’s political career began when he played a key role in the 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution that ended the authoritarian rule of President Ferdinand E. Marcos.  He rose to prominence as one of the leaders of a group of young, idealistic   officers known as the Reform the Armed Forces Movement or RAM, who believed that the President had lost control and moral ascendancy to lead the nation.  Their withdrawal of support was a decisive element in the triumph of the historic revolt.

Sir, alam n'yo po dati napapanood ko lang kayo sa TV, ngayon po nakakatabi ko na kayo, and I'm so proud of it, my Ninong.

During President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's administration, he was accused of masterminding the Oakwood mutiny led by a new generation of young reformist officers in the Armed Forces. He was accused of military uprising, a charge later dismissed by the courts.

Secretary Honasan was first elected to the Senate in 1995, the first truly independent  candidate  in  Philippine  political  history to win in national elections.  He had since been elected senator four times as an independent candidate. 

His entry into the Philippine Senate marked his evolution from a soldier to a statesman.   He has become a consistent advocate for a proactive government that would address poverty, homelessness, hunger, ignorance, social injustice, deeper forms of violence, divisive partisan politics, and a government that would uphold national sovereignty and national security.

His landmark contributions to legislation include the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Act, Solid Waste Management Act, and Increasing the Base Pay of Military and Uniformed Personnel in the Government.  Sir, maraming salamat po sa pagsuporta ninyo sa pagdodoble po ng s’weldo ng mga sundalo at kapulisan. 

He was the main proponent of the National Security Policy, Freedom of 

Information or People’s Ownership of Government   Information or POGI Bill, National Land Use Policy, and the proposed   Mini Marshall Plan for peace and development in Mindanao. He also supported the proposed amendments to the Human Security Act.

He authored and co-authored vital laws passed in the Senate on Strengthening the Dangerous Drugs Act, Comprehensive Firearms and Ammunition Regulation, stiffer penalties for the Illegal Possession of Explosives.

Secretary Honasan  filed  several  bills  that focused on  National Security,  Intelligence  Reform,  Land  Use,  Agrarian  Reform, Public Order, and lasting  peace  through a comprehensive long-term National Peace Policy.

In the Senate’s Centennial Year, Secretary Honasan was elected Assistant Majority Leader, Member of the Commission on Appointments, and Chaired two major Senate Committees—National Defense and Security and Peace, Unification, and Reconciliation, and became Chair of the Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds, Programs and Activities as well as the Ad Hoc Committee on the Marawi Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Program.  Other Chairmanships he held as a four-term senator for 20 years   were the Committees on Energy, Labor, Environment, Agrarian   Reform, Sports, Public Information and Mass Media, Public Order and Dangerous Drugs.

A stellar political career notwithstanding, Secretary Honasan remains a soldier at heart.  He has been happily and proudly married for the last 46 years to Jane Umali Honasan with whom he has five wonderful children and five cute grandchildren.  Among his greatest achievements, he believes, are being a husband for 46 years, a father for 45 years, and a grandfather for 12 years.

He is a man of few words but commands a different charisma with a gift of gab. He is well-loved by his personal staff, and long-time employees have only good words for him as a Boss. 

Secretary Honasan believes in the ancient definition of   heroism - when good people, from all walks of life, work together, sacrifice and help build for the next generation. He is convinced that the Philippines is a nation of heroes.  He wants history to remember him less as a personality, but more for the brotherhood of men that he was a part of and what it stood for after he has done his duty in this lifetime. The greatest legacy, he believes, will be our most precious, strategic and renewable resource - our children.

There is no stopping for him even up to now. After serving the Filipinos as Senator of the Republic for 21 years, he has accepted this new cabinet portfolio, a daunting challenge indeed, as Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology or DICT.

Sir, Secretary Honasan, samasama po tayo sa tunay, tapat at may malasakit na serbisyo sa ating kapwa Pilipino.

Ako muna, Mr. Chairman, taga Davao ito, eh. 

Mr. President, allow me to make on record my support for and to second the motion to confirm the ad interim appointment of Cong. Isidro Tom Ungab to the rank of Colonel, Philippine Army, Reserved, Armed Forces of the Philippines.  Congressman Ungab became the first Mindanaoan lawyer-lawmaker to head the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives, a position he held with integrity and resolve.  Congressman Ungab was also cited by the late former Senator and Senate President Ernesto Maceda as one of the top ten performing congressmen in 2014 in the service of his country and countrymen. 

As a legislator, Congressman Ungab has been acknowledged as the principal author of several bills in the 18th Congress pertaining to the Citizens’ Service Training Corps; the establishment of Citizen Service Corps; the creation of the Citizen  Service Organization Commission; and, the postponement of the May 20 Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections, among others.

As an Army Reservist, he was awarded the Reservist “Katapatan Lapu-lapu Badge” to recognize his spirit of voluntarism and willingness to support the programs of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. 

I am confident that Congressman Ungab, along with his colleagues, whose appointments and nominations we are considering today are well-qualified to perform their duties and responsibilities not accompanies.

Thank you very much.