The MOU enables NGCP to share vital information on energy-related security issues and provide technical advice to the Nica, which will be in charge of integrating collected intelligence information from various government instrumentalities, make an analysis, assess the data, and recommend actions in safeguarding NGCP’s transmission assets.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. witnessed the signing held at the President’s Hall in Malacañan Palace. He hailed the signing, saying there is a need for the country to develop systems in a bid to boost its cybersecurity.
The NGCP is a privately owned corporation in charge of operating, maintaining and developing the country’s state-owned power grid, an interconnected system that transmits gigawatts of power in thousands of volts from generators to consumers.
It said it forged the MOU with Nica to effectively deal with attacks from lawless elements after experiencing sabotage and bombing incidents in the past that resulted in injury to its personnel, as well as military escorts patrolling the transmission operator’s area of jurisdiction and damage to their facilities. An MOU though is a non-binding agreement, unlike a memorandum of agreement.
Marcos said the MOU is vital in the continuing effort of the country to protect itself against any attacks in cyberspace and to secure collected data and information and prevent external actors from using them against the Philippines.
He raised the parallelism between the previous global wars and industrial development at the time with the current advancements in business through cyberspace.
“Since NGCP is a critical part of our security, of our ability to continue to function as a society, then this is an important day because now we have made more robust the defenses against any possible attacks on our power systems,” he said. (SunStar Philippines)