Palace stands by Budget chief

MALACAÑANG on Thursday stood by Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno amid calls from lawmakers at the House of Representatives for President Rodrigo R. Duterte to remove him over alleged irregularities in the proposed 2019 national budget.

The Palace stressed that the Budget chief’s record is “unblemished.”

“Secretary Diokno’s record in the government service, to the mind of the Chief Executive and of the rest of his cabinet, is unblemished. As one of the Administration’s economic managers, PRRD considers him as one of the best and brightest in his official family. Sec. Diokno’s reputation as an upright, competent and honest public servant stays solid up to this day,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo said in a statement.

Mr. Panelo noted that the Palace “respects” the House Resolution No. 2365, which urges the Office of the President to reconsider the appointment of Mr. Diokno.

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

The spokesman also pointed out that if Congress “feels 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.”

“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,” Mr. Panelo said further.