Hontiveros casts doubt on NGCP-NICA cybersecurity agreement with China in the picture

A SENATOR has cast doubt on the effectiveness of a recent agreement entered into by the National Grid Corporation of the Philippines (NGCP) and the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA) to strengthen cybersecurity in the country, given a foreign company’s share in NGCP.��

“The fact that China has control over the NGCP continues to worry me,” Senator Ana Theresia “Risa” N. Hontiveros-Baraquel said in a statement on Wednesday.����

“Firewall is of no use if the Great Wall is already here,” she added.����

NGCP is 60% owned by Filipino companies Monte Oro Grid Resources Corp. and Calaca High Power Corporation, while the remaining shares are held by the State Grid Corp. of China.����

“When our power grid operator is owned by a foreign entity, whether in whole or in part, it will be more difficult for the government to defend it from cyber-attacks,” the senators said.������

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. on Monday said the NGCP-NICA partnership is a “very good step” towards addressing fears that the involvement of any foreign entity in the power transmission system “would present a security threat to the Philippines.”����

Under the deal, the NGCP will share “vital information” on energy-related security issues and provide technical advice to the NICA, which is tasked to recommend actions in safeguarding the grid agency’s transmission assets.����

Ms. Hontiveros earlier pushed for a national security audit to review and evaluate the performance of the NGCP as well as investigate reports that China may control and remotely shut down the country’s power transmission system.����

The senator said her mistrust of the Chinese government stemmed from its actions in the highly disputed South China Sea.����

“China and the Philippines have unresolved conflicts over the West Philippine Sea. The last thing we need is a cyber-attack from within — which may possibly be launched from the China headquarters of this state-owned company,” she said.����

“We can only hope that NGCP will genuinely collaborate with NICA, and that whatever intelligence information they obtain will be used for the benefit of the country rather than to give China an advantage,” Ms. Hontiveros said. — Alyssa Nicole O. Tan��