President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. on Monday directed agencies to ensure that the speed and quality of the information technology (IT) development is at par with the country’s economic aspirations.

In his third State of the Nation Address (SONA), the President noted that bigger and faster IT infrastructure requires stronger and more impervious cyber-defense.

President Marcos said the country’s recently launched National Cybersecurity Plan “lays down the blueprint for us to safeguard our systems against cyberattacks.”

“With these said, I have directed the agencies concerned to ensure that the speed and quality of our IT development always mirrors the pace and trajectory of our economic aspirations,” the President said.

In his SONA, the President also outed the country’s power and internet services are continuously being upgraded in both capacity and connectivity.

The Chief Executive further noted that infrastructure development remains sustained, strategic, and on schedule.

“Aside from agriculture and disaster risk, our other vital sectors and pillars — such as education, health, energy, low-cost housing, transport, information technology — they also stand to benefit from our aggressive infrastructure development, as befitting our upper middle-income economic target,” he said. PND