National Cyber Defense Academy to play major role in ‘digital renaissance’ –Lacson

The first National Cyber Defense Academy is set to play a major role in the country’s “digital renaissance” in the next three years, presidential aspirant Senator Panfilo Lacson declared on Saturday.

In his speech during the visit of Philippine Military Academy “Matatag” Class of 1971 at the PMA, Lacson said the prospect of the country’s first National Cyber Defense Academy and the largest intelligent network through Project Lightning in Baguio City were “unimaginable” back in their day.

“Between you and me, what we can now anticipate appears to be a ‘digital renaissance’ in the next three years,” Lacson, an alumnus of "Matatag" Class of 1971, said.

“This breakthrough technology is our way to revolutionize our connectivity landscape which already addresses the speed, cost, and efficiency requirements to literally connect everything,” Lacson added.

He also visited Baguio's Smart City Command Center on Friday, saying that the command center was Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong’s vision of operationalizing digital governance to unlock even more socio-economic opportunities in the city.

“The innovative solutions in crowd density monitoring, timely incident reporting, and even real-time weather prediction will surely be key in elevating the quality of life of the city’s residents,” Lacson said.

He also called the various sectors of the country to keep pace with pivotal transformations for the betterment of their communities.

“This includes pacing ourselves to the thriving digital... that is bound to change not only our defense system, but literally every single aspect of our nation’s well-being,” he added.

PMA’s virtues

Lacson underscored that the values he learned in PMA such as “courage, integrity, and loyalty” helped him to address the country’s challenges.

“These virtues are much-warranted in today’s unprecedented challenges, the long-term impact of the pandemic, the ballooning national debt, the biggest dip of our economy, the maritime disputes in the West Philippine Sea, as well as the undeniable climate crisis,” he said.

The senator said that he and his “mistahs” were at the forefront of many key points in the nation’s history.

"Living up to our class moniker, our class fought and bled in many battles - we stood at the forefront of armed rebellions and peaceful revolutions that set the course of our nation’s history,” he said.

“Even in our second careers as elected or appointed public officials, as well as in private enterprises, within us is our ironclad commitment to the virtues taught to us by our beloved Alma Mater," he added.

Lacson also earlier attended the blessing and inauguration of the New Florendo Hall, the cadet barracks of the PMA. — DVM, GMA News