Palace rejects House call to fire Diokno

MANILA, Philippines — With his “unblemished” record as a public official, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno still has the trust of President Duterte and should remain in his position despite demands by some lawmakers that he be dismissed.

This was according to presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo, who cited the President’s high regard for the budget chief whose dismissal was being demanded by lawmakers through House Resolution 2365.

Congressmen, led by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, wanted him removed for his alleged links to a small Bulacan-based firm that mysteriously bagged billions of pesos worth of government projects.

The lawmakers are also blaming him for hefty insertions in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways for 2019.

Panelo said lawmakers should respect the President’s prerogative to choose his officials.

“In the same manner that the President doesn’t tell Congress who it will choose as its officers and how to go about it, we wish that its members return the same courtesy,” he said.

He stressed the executive department respects the decision of House members to issue such resolution.

“We similarly wish to express that the President continues to trust the budget secretary and the confidence reposed on him remains unimpaired,” he said.

“Secretary Diokno’s record in the government service, to the mind of the Chief Executive and of the rest of his Cabinet, is unblemished,” he said. “As one of the administration’s economic managers, PRRD (Duterte’s initials as president) considers him as one of the best and brightest in his official family,” he added.

Panelo cited Diokno’s reputation as an upright, competent and honest public servant.

He said members of Congress should continue its duty of ensuring that the budget is well appropriated.

“Congress, to which the power of the purse rightfully belongs, has the constitutional duty to scrutinize the budget and even has the power to revise or amend proposals found in it,” he said.

Should any of the lawmakers find fault in any member of the executive branch in the budget allocations, the Palace official urged them to bring a case to court.

“Should it feel that there was irregularity in the allocation of the budget, it can always correct it, apart from having the option of recommending the filing of charges against those they deem are responsible for the transgressions should the same amount to a crime,” he said.

Meanwhile, the House oversight committee – chaired by Suarez – will continue its investigation on Diokno’s “favored contractor” on Jan. 3 in Naga in the Bicol region.

“The committee will subpoena, among others, the regional director of the Department of Public Works and Highways, two district engineers of Sorsogon City and the district engineer of Catanduanes,” House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya said.

The provinces of Sorsogon and Catanduanes were among the recipients of billions of pesos in government projects awarded to CT Leoncio Trading and Construction, a sole proprietorship. 

The committee had already issued a subpoena to Consolacion T. Leoncio, proprietor of CT Leoncio Trading and Construction.

“We have received official records showing that billions of pesos in public funds were funneled from DBM (Department of Budget and Management) to C.T. Leoncio Construction and Trading in official transactions of unparalleled proportion,” Andaya earlier said. –  with Delon Porcalla