Diokno not off the hook in House probe on budget mess amid BSP appointment
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:42:26 +0000
DESPITE the appointment of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno as the new Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor, he will still be summoned to the House of Representatives investigating his alleged involvement in numerous budget irregularities, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez said on Tuesday.
“May pending issues pa siya sa House eh. Wala pa kaming closure (He still has pending issues in the House. We still don’t have closure)…I intend to continue hearings [on the matter and summon Diokno] if there is a need for it,” Suarez told reporters in a news briefing.
Cooperative-National Confederation of Cooperatives (NATCCO) party-list Rep. Anthony Bravo added that Diokno would still be questioned despite his new appointment.
Before the congressional break last February, House leaders said they were tired of being constantly snubbed by Diokno.
House Appropriations Chairman Rolando Andaya Jr. previously said that if Diokno had nothing to hide, he would show up to clarify his side on the matter.
Diokno never showed up in any of the hearings since he was grilled in December’s Question Hour.
He still has to answer pending issues on budget irregularities, including the alleged P75 billion insertion of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2019. A portion of the amount allegedly favored his in-laws.
Diokno allegedly even offered P40 billion to make the House “shut up” about the insertion, Andaya previously revealed.
A total of P198-billion worth of government contracts were also reportedly procured by the DBM in 2018 for big-ticket infrastructure projects.
Diokno was also accused of keeping P370 billion in budgetary savings, but he claimed that the amount was reverted to the Treasury.
ACT Teachers party-list Antonio Tinio opposed Diokno’s appointment, citing the above-mentioned allegations.
“Despite styling himself as a budget reformer, these questions will continue to hound Diokno for as long as he fails to account for his role in the so-called flood control scam,” he said.
Meanwhile, House Committee on Banks Chairman Henry Ong described Diokno as a “respected economist” and veteran in public service with decades of wisdom on public finance.
“I hope that is enough for the banking community and the investing public to trust Dr. Diokno at the helm of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas,” Ong said. GLEE JALEA
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