MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte has accepted the resignation of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr nearly 4 months after receiving his offer to quit.

This was announced by Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque in a statement on Friday, May 22.

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

Rio had offered to resign last January 30 out of frustration for his supposedly being left in the dark by Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) Secretary Gregorio Honasan on the use of confidential funds. 

Rio had then been in charge of operations.

Some P300 million in funds that were supposed to go to improving the country’s cybersecurity were used as cash advance for Honasan’s confidential and intelligence funds, according to a Commission on Audit (COA) document. 

The Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) had said it would investigate Rio’s claims.

Rio had served as DICT acting secretary before Honasan’s appointment. He had taken the place of Rodolfo Salalima who Duterte had fired. – Rappler.com