No more subpoena: House to invite Benjamin Diokno

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives will not subpoena Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to its investigation on “questionable allocations” by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) in the national budget,  Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. said yesterday.

He said the rules committee, which he heads, would instead invite Diokno to its first hearing on Jan. 3 in Naga City.

He said if the budget chief does not respond to the invitation, the House would not issue a subpoena to compel him to show up.

“We will leave it at that, though he has a lot of explaining to do. We have a lot of questions to ask him. If he does not attend our investigation, he could just explain himself to the public,” he added.

Diokno has said he has been directed not to attend the House inquiry. When asked who gave the directive to the budget secretary, presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said it must have come from President Duterte.

Andaya said among the things he wants the DBM chief to explain is the allocation of P325 million mostly for flood control projects in Casiguran, Sorsogon, the hometown of Diokno’s in-laws.

“We are not surprised that the P325-million new projects for Casiguran turn out to be flood-mitigating projects. These are the pet projects of Secretary Diokno, whose new advocacy is climate change,” Andaya said.

“That is why we will quiz the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) on the sudden surge of billion-peso allocations for flood-mitigation projects,” he said.

He said the P54-billion increase in flood control appropriations could be where “parked funds” that could be used for election purposes are hidden.

He said the rules committee would invite DPWH flood control mitigation chief Patrick Gatan “to explain the government’s flood control mitigation priorities from 2017 to 2019.”

“Does the DBM comply with the flood control mitigation master plan recommended by DPWH? Were the recommendations of Director Gatan included in the DBM allocations? If not, who inserted those flood control funds in the national budget?” he asked.

Andaya, a former budget secretary, said he would also like to know “if the DBM allocations in Sorsogon adhere to a recent World Bank study identifying the flood-prone areas in the country and recommending solutions to the flooding problem we experience.”