[Op-Ed] Harry Santos: Atty. Edwin Lacierda for DICT: The Philippines Needs a Tech Builder, Not Just a Tech Bureaucrat

The next head of the Department of Information and Communications Technology should understand technology, communicate the plans well with the public, obsess over details, and know how to get things done inside government. Edwin Lacierda checks all four boxes.

The reports surrounding Henry Aguda’s resignation as Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) raise a bigger question than who should replace him.

What kind of leadership does the Philippine technology sector actually need?

If the position opens up, I have a name in mind: Atty. Edwin Lacierda.

And no, this isn’t just because he was the presidential spokesperson under the late President Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III, or because I happen to know him personally. It’s because his unusual combination of experience in government communications, tech entrepreneurship, and political relationships makes him a particularly compelling candidate for a department that desperately needs to understand both technology and the people who build with it.

1. A genuine startup operator, not just a technology enthusiast

Let’s start with something that should immediately put Lacierda near the top of any shortlist: his experience helping build PayMongo.

PayMongo was accepted into Y Combinator’s Summer 2019 batch, joining one of the world’s most coveted startup accelerators. Its investors included Stripe, one of the world’s leading payments technology companies, alongside other prominent venture capital firms and investors.

That is not a small credential in the Philippine context.

Y Combinator doesn’t guarantee that every founder will succeed, nor does graduating from its program automatically make someone qualified to run a government agency. But it does expose founders to a demanding environment where they must learn to identify product-market fit, launch quickly, talk to customers, test assumptions, and iterate based on what users actually need.

These are precisely the instincts that government technology projects often lack.

Startup thinking offers a different approach: start with the user, solve a real problem, ship something useful, measure what happens, and improve it.

Imagine applying that mindset to government websites, digital public services, cybersecurity reporting, online permits, and the countless frustrating transactions Filipinos still have to endure on government digital platforms every single day.

Lacierda has firsthand experience building in an environment where you’re supposed to be obsessed with your user. In this case, that’s the Filipino.

2. He understands that tech policy is also a communications problem

One of the most important lessons from the recent controversies surrounding DICT is that technology governance cannot be separated from public communication.

Consider the backlash over the blocking of Discord. The episode demonstrated how quickly a government decision involving a digital platform can alienate the very community the government is supposed to serve. The decision was subsequently reversed, but the damage to public confidence and trust was already affected.

Whether we are talking about cybersecurity, online platforms, digital privacy, or internet regulation, the government cannot simply issue directives and expect the public to fall in line.

It has to explain the problem it is trying to solve, show its evidence, listen to legitimate concerns, and engage the people who understand the technology.

This is where Lacierda brings a distinct advantage.

As Aquino’s presidential spokesperson from 2010 to 2016, he was part of a communications operation that, in my view, often projected a level of discipline and coordination that government (and even private sector) communications teams should aspire to. He knows what it means to communicate policy, respond to criticism, and defend a government’s position in public.

It needs a leader who can speak credibly to ordinary Filipinos, lawmakers, industry executives, cybersecurity professionals, developers, and the broader technology stakeholders.

We’ve all seen Atty. Edwin on that podium and we all know he has the right communication skills for this job.

3. His attention to detail is not just a talking point. I’ve experienced it firsthand.

I worked with Atty. Edwin at PayMongo, and I remember an argument we had about how my data was reported.

From my perspective, it seemed like a minor error. The kind of thing that could easily be dismissed as a technicality and moved on from.

He wouldn’t let it go.

At the time, I remember thinking that he was making too much of something relatively small. Looking back, I understand the point: the way data is presented affects how people interpret performance, make decisions, and hold others accountable.

People who worked with Lacierda and Aquino have attributed this attention to detail, at least in part, to his experience working with a president who placed considerable importance on data in decision-making.

I cannot speak for every conversation they had behind closed doors. But I can speak to my own experience working with him.

And that experience matters when considering the demands of a department responsible for digital infrastructure, public-sector technology, cybersecurity, and government information systems.

My disagreement with Atty. Edwin over a reporting detail gave me a glimpse of that instinct. For a department that needs to deliver real results, it is an attribute worth valuing.

4. He understands the political game, and that matters

There is another reason Lacierda makes sense for the position: he is not entering government politics as a complete outsider.

He has served in the presidential communications apparatus, worked with senior government officials, and built relationships across political and professional circles. He understands how government operates, how competing interests shape decisions, and how to communicate within the political realities of the Philippines.

This is important because the DICT secretary does not operate in a vacuum.

The job requires working with other departments, local governments, Congress, regulators, telecommunications companies, technology vendors, and international partners. It requires navigating procurement, budgets, competing priorities, and bureaucratic resistance.

A brilliant technology expert without the ability to build coalitions can find it difficult to get anything implemented. Conversely, a seasoned politician without a genuine understanding of technology can end up making decisions that sound good politically but fail in practice.

Of course, political alliances should never be the sole basis for an appointment. They are useful only if they help deliver better outcomes for the public.

But pretending that relationships and political capital do not matter in government is equally naive. The question is whether a secretary can use those relationships to get things done.

Lacierda has more than just a head start.

5. DICT needs to earn back the trust of the technology community

Ultimately, this is not about giving a former presidential spokesperson another Cabinet position. Nor is it about treating startup credentials as a magic formula for fixing government.

It is about recognizing that the DICT needs leadership capable of bridging several worlds that too often operate separately: government, technology, business, and the public.

Honestly, we have about two more years before another presidential election and the changing of the guards could all be mixed up again and I wonder if that even enough time to do anything.

But if the resignation continues, I have only one man who I believe is right for the job.

This Op-Ed by Harry Santos is published on BitPinas: [Op-Ed] Harry Santos: Atty. Edwin Lacierda for DICT: The Philippines Needs a Tech Builder, Not Just a Tech Bureaucrat

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