House resolution urges Duterte to fire budget chief

MANILA, Philippines — Administration lawmakers called on President Duterte last night to fire Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, whose integrity they are questioning for “accommodating and merging family with public interests.”

House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. said an overwhelming majority of lawmakers in the plenary “adopted” the call contained in House Resolution 2365 authored by Minority Leader Danilo Suarez.

Diokno laughed off the lawmakers’ call. “Hahaha. That’s what they want me to do all along,” Diokno said in a text message to The STAR.

“I serve at the pleasure of the President. I was chosen by three presidents as budget deputy minister, then as secretary. That speaks volumes of their trust and confidence in my integrity, honesty and competence,” he said.

“I doubt if you can say the same of those who want me to resign,” he added.

In his two-page resolution, Suarez said the President should “reconsider the appointment” of Diokno, who was grilled on Tuesday by lawmakers over his alleged insertion of pork funds into the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

“There are doubts as to the secretary’s integrity and use of his position in accommodating and merging family with public interests,” Suarez stressed, referring to Diokno’s in-law, Constancia Leoncio, whose firm had unlawfully bagged billions in government contracts. 

“Diokno was not also able to explain how one sole proprietorship construction company was able to obtain numerous projects from the government in Sorsogon,” he stated, noting that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) had allotted P10 billion in 2018 and P6 billion more for next year in the province.

“The issue on the augmentation in the budget of the DPWH without the secretary’s knowledge and consent remains unresolved,” Suarez also pointed out. Mark Villar is the DPWH chief.

According to the opposition lawmaker, “such insertion, if proven, is illegal and ultra vires for it bypassed the authority of the President, through its line agencies, to submit its proposed budgets for 2019.” 

Andaya said Diokno was fooling Duterte with his alleged tinkering with the budget program.

“It is clear that he blindsided the President on the budget process. The President trusted him, he betrayed that trust. The DBM secretary must spare the President of this embarrassment. Pronto,” he said.

“My message to our President: talk to the secretary of DBM because he might push you off a cliff. It happened to his previous boss,” he said in Filipino, referring to Manila Mayor and ousted president Joseph Estrada.

“So it’s best that we talk so we’ll know the real score, instead of hitting each other in the media,” the Camarines Sur congressman said in Filipino.

On Tuesday, Andaya said they were summoning a Bulacan-based contractor whose alleged links to Diokno may have allowed it to get involved in “official transactions of unparalleled proportion.”

“In furtherance of the investigation being conducted by the rules committee, I move that we issue a subpoena for Consolacion T. Leoncio, proprietor of CT Leoncio Trading and Construction,” Andaya said.

Andaya said they have received official records showing billions of pesos in public funds funneled from the DBM to C.T. Leoncio.