Diokno gets CA nod

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno breezed through his confirmation hearing before the Commission on Appointments (CA) yesterday, getting nothing but praises in one of the shortest hearings conducted by the body.

With no registered objections to his appointment and no questions raised by any of the members of the CA committee on budget and management, Diokno was promptly endorsed for confirmation by San Juan City Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, which was seconded by Sen. Loren Legarda.

It took no more than 20 minutes for Diokno to complete his confirmation. In fact, it took longer to wait for Senate Minority Leader Ralph Recto to arrive to witness the confirmation hearing.

Diokno is the first Cabinet secretary of the Duterte administration to be taken up by the powerful commission.

This is Diokno’s third stint in government, the first as budget undersecretary during the term of former president Corazon Aquino from 1986 to 1991, then as budget secretary under the administration of former president Joseph Estrada from 1998 to 2001.

In endorsing Diokno’s nomination, Recto said the secretary has got what it takes and the guts to perform one of the hardest jobs in the Cabinet.

“And all presidents have expected their DBM (Department of Budget and Management) men to perform budget miracles, like in a recent case when funds must be found in a jiffy so that the base pay of the uniformed personnel, and soon teachers, will be doubled. The good thing, however, is that the nominee has the reputation of speaking truth to power,” Recto said.

“I think it’s the number one role of the guardian of the nation’s purse – to remind us of the limits of spending, that resources are not infinite, that we have to live within our means and operate with what we have,” he added.