(Eagle News) — It was “presumably” President Rodrigo Duterte himself who ordered Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno not to appear before a House hearing on budget issues, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Dec. 17, Panelo said it was only the President, after all, who could tell Diokno whether to make the appearance or not in the hearing slated on Jan. 3 next year in Naga.
“The basis would be the rude treatment that (Diokno) has received,”Panelo said when asked what the basis would be for Duterte’s directive.
Panelo was apparently referring to the Question Hour on December 11, when Diokno was interrogated by House lawmakers on his alleged ties to the contractor who cornered 30 government projects worth billions, and the “executive pork” House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya said had been inserted in the proposed national budget for 2019.
Andaya had made the allegations against Diokno after Senator Panfilo Lacson accused his province and Pampanga, House Speaker Gloria Arroyo’s district, of cornering “congressional insertions” in the House-proposed national budget for next year.
Andaya denied the allegations, saying it was actually the former leaders of the House who cornered funds meant for infrastructure projects in the proposal.
The House of Representatives later went on to adopt a resolution urging Duterte to reconsider his appointment of Diokno as budget secretary, but the President stood by him, noting his reputation of integrity.
Diokno has said the allegations against him were mere “tactics” aimed at diverting the attention of the public from the accusations hurled against the House lawmakers by Lacson.
