Rep. Revilla pushes bill to protect PH critical infra from cyberattacks

Agimat Rep. Bryan Revilla

MANILA, Philippines — Agimat Party-list Rep. Bryan Revilla is pushing for the passage of a measure that seeks to strengthen the country’s defenses against cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure.

Revilla, the party-list’s first nominee, filed House Bill No. 8199, or the Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Act, which mandates government agencies and private entities managing critical infrastructure to adopt minimum cybersecurity standards.

“Right now, there’s low policy awareness, weak organizational capacity, and unclear institutional responsibilities when it comes to cybersecurity in the country,” Revilla said in a statement. “To address these gaps, my bill proposes a national policy directive promoting information security across critical sectors.”

Critical infrastructure includes systems and services vital to national security and public welfare, such as banking and finance, telecommunications, health care, energy, transportation, and broadcast media.

A cyberattack on any of these sectors — whether in the public or private domain — could severely disrupt trade and essential public services. Citing studies, Revilla warned that the country stands to lose as much as P6.15 billion daily should key infrastructure fall victim to a major cyber incident.

Under the proposed measure, concerned entities would be required to implement standard security protocols and ensure their ICT systems are capable of responding to and recovering from cyber threats. The bill also seeks to establish a coordinated framework for institutional response in the event of an attack.

“This bill is long overdue. No one is safe from cyber threats — not government institutions, not private companies, not even ordinary Filipinos using mobile banking apps,” Revilla said. “Our laws must evolve to match the digital age and empower our institutions to protect the public effectively.”

Revilla currently serves as a member of the House Committee on Information and Communications Technology. He has chaired technical working groups for key ICT-related proposals, including the Zero Spectrum User Fee Bill aimed at lowering internet costs and the Internet Refund Mechanism Bill.