DICT Secretary Aguda Resigns as Ombudsman Probes "Ghost Internet" in Free Wi-Fi Program

Henry Aguda is no longer Secretary of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT). Ombudsman Jesus Crispin Remulla first disclosed the resignation on his DZRH radio program on October 10 (Inquirer, Philstar). President Marcos confirmed on October 11 that he had accepted it (Inquirer, BusinessMirror), and the DICT confirmed it the following day (BusinessWorld).

Aguda had led the department since March 2025, succeeding Ivan Uy. As of October 12, no successor had been named, and the DICT had not announced an officer-in-charge (BusinessWorld, TechWatch PH). In a statement, Aguda promised "a smooth and orderly transition, with the continuity of essential functions, operations, and ongoing digital initiatives safeguarded."

The Free Wi-Fi probe

The resignation comes during an Office of the Ombudsman investigation into alleged "ghost internet" or "ghost connectivity" projects under the government's Free Wi-Fi program. Marcos did not say the probe was the reason Aguda left. He said Remulla's early disclosure was "related, I think, to the progress of the investigation that he is conducting on the ghost connectivity projects" (BusinessMirror, Inquirer).

According to the Ombudsman, the investigation is looking at whether contracted Free Wi-Fi sites were actually installed and working, whether the government was billed for services that were never delivered, and whether hardware, software and service prices were inflated (Philstar, BusinessMirror). These are allegations under investigation. No findings of liability have been established (Inquirer).

My take as a network consultant

Whoever takes over the DICT inherits a credibility problem that is, at its core, an engineering problem. "Is this site live, and is it delivering what we paid for?" should never need an Ombudsman to answer. A connectivity contract can be verified continuously and cheaply:

• Every site reports to a central monitoring system, with uptime, latency and throughput collected independently of the contractor.
• Payment is tied to measured service levels, not to installation certificates.
• Inventory, including software licences and hardware serials, is reconciled against what was actually delivered, not just what was invoiced.
• Monitoring data is published so the public and auditors can see it.

BusinessWorld reports the DICT said in September that it would release a tool to help monitor Free Wi-Fi sites (BusinessWorld). That is the right direction, and the next secretary should make it the default for every connectivity project, not an afterthought. Leadership gaps also tend to stall procurement, so LGUs and ISPs working with the DICT should expect some delays until a successor is in place.