MEMBERS of the House of Representatives on Tuesday grilled Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno over 2019 budget insertions, irregularities in infrastructure programs and projects involving his daughter’s in-laws.
During the Question Hour for the DBM secretary, Diokno admitted that there’s an augmentation of P75 billion, and not just P51 billion, in the 2019 national budget.
“We decided to augment another P75 billion [but] you cannot call that insertion because it’s part of the process,” said Diokno in the course of Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr.’s interpellation.
Earlier, Andaya accused Diokno of inserting P51 billion in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Diokno, meanwhile, maintained that there will be no pork barrel in the proposed 2019 national budget by members of the 17th Congress. “The Executive prepares the budget and the President submits the budget to the House and then you can do what you want to do with the budget. [But] you can mangle it, you can approve it,” Diokno said.
The delayed approval of the national budget stemmed from the supposed P51-billion insertions allegedly by the previous House leadership, prompting the leadership to realign the money to other projects and for equitable and fair distribution of funds.
The alleged insertions were already realigned to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund for the rehabilitation of areas badly hit by typhoon Ompong, especially Cagayan Valley, Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Department of Health, DOH’s Health Human Resources Development “to stave off the mass layoff of 6,000 nurses, and doctors and dentists, as well,” and Capital Outlay of State Universities and Colleges.
The funds were also realigned to Technical-Vocational Laboratories under the Department of Education; to decongest traffic in urban areas; for roads for identified tourism areas; for roads to trade areas, economic zones, livelihood centers and markets; and for the Department of Agriculture’s farm-to-market roads.
Also during the Question Hour, Minority Leader Danilo E. Suarez questioned Diokno’s
knowledge over P2.8-billion projects in Casiguran and Sorsogon where his daughter’s in-laws are elected officials.
Suarez revealed that Diokno’s daughter is married to the son of Sorsogon Vice Gov. Ester Hamor and Casiguran Mayor Edwin Hamor, who are both running in the 2019 elections.
However, Diokno said he’s not aware of the project, and as family, they “do not talk about projects.” He said none of his family members as well as friends are involved
whenever he makes decisions as budget secretary.
“I have served three presidents. I am known for my integrity. I have no relatives nor friends as far as public affairs are concerned,” he said.
“That’s part of my job to allocate resources per department, but to implement, that’s not my job….There are no friends, no relatives when I make a decision. [It is] unbiased,” added Diokno.
In other infrastructure issues, Diokno said he is not aware of the controversial CT Leoncio Trading and Construction, which was involved in the so-called “large-scale scam” worth billions of pesos in infrastructure spending under 2018’s appropriations.
Contractor summoned
Meanwhile, the plenary approved the motion of Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya Jr. to issue a subpoena against a certain Consolacion T. Leoncio, sole proprietor of CT Leoncio Trading and Construction, that allegedly bagged several infrastructure contracts in various provinces.
“The favored contractor of a DBM official bagged billions of pesos worth of DPWH projects not only in Sorsogon and Catanduanes, but also multimillion projects of other government agencies in Metro Manila and other provinces in almost all parts of the country,” he said.
“We have received official records showing that billions of pesos in public funds were funneled from DBM to CT Leoncio Construction and Trading in official transactions of unparalleled proportion,” he added.
He said these projects are located in Sorsogon, Catanduanes, Samar, National Capital Region, Camarines Sur, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Batangas, Bulacan and Davao City.
Besides DPWH projects, CT Leoncio also cornered various infrastructure contracts from the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Department of Transportation, Philippine Ports Authority, Philippine Fisheries Development Authority, and the Department of Labor and Employment, Andaya said.
“In furtherance of the investigation being conducted by your Rules Committee, I move that we issue a subpoena for Consolacion T. Leoncio, proprietor of CT Leoncio Trading and Construction,” Andaya said.