EDITORIAL – Rio’s resignation

Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Eliseo Rio has submitted his resignation over what he called hundreds of millions of pesos in questionable disbursements in the agency’s confidential funds.

According to a report by Philstar.com, Rio submitted his resignation letter to his immediate superior, DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan. In the letter, which has yet to be forwarded to the president for final decision, Rio cited his achievements in the DICT over the years. However, he also told the news website that he also said he has a matter that he wants to relay to the president “personally and privately.”

“The president must know first the full situation and he will decide what to do,” Rio is quoted by the news website as saying.

Rio said he was not comfortable with the grant of P300 million in confidential funds, for which he had no use. To make it more uncomfortable for him, he said the funds were not subject to regular audit because of their confidential nature.

We salute Rio for his delicadeza in no longer waiting for any scandal to brew in his office before tendering his resignation. Many officials have been unceremoniously removed after allegations and even “whiff of corruption” accusations, both founded and unfounded, reached the office of the president.

His tendering his resignation also shows that he is not willing to get entangled in any issue that can bring his name down later on.

Of course, we can’t help but ask --the same thing Rio is doing-- why such, the agency is getting confidential funds that cannot be accounted for under regular audit. Rio himself says the agency is not mandated to conduct surveillance operations.

It also raises eyebrows why an agency just three years old has such a princely amount at its disposal, while many other agencies have to struggle to get their own funding from the government.

Rio has mentioned he will bring the matter up with the president, and we look forward to seeing this issue resolved. However, how the president will react to Rio’s statements is still anyone’s guess.