Malacañang respects the resolution adopted by the House of Representatives to reconsider the appointment of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno but stressed that he still enjoys the trust of President Duterte.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo made the remark after the House adopted Resolution No. 2365 based on findings obtained from Diokno’s answers in its “Question Hour” Monday.
Panelo emphasized that the Palace considers the House resolution as a sentiment from a separate branch of government.
“While we respect House Resolution No. 2365 which urges the Office of the President to reconsider the appointment of Department of Budget and Management Secretary Benjamin Diokno as an expression of sentiment from a separate branch of the government, we similarly wish to express that the President continues to trust the Budget Secretary and the confidence reposed on him remains unimpaired,” Panelo said in a statement.
Panelo pointed out that because the President himself did not interfere with any branch of government when it came to selecting their leaders, he hoped the legislative branch would do the same.
“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,” he added.
Lawmakers grilled Diokno on the alleged P75-billion worth of “insertions” contained in the P3.757-trillion proposed national budget for 2019 without the President’s consent. (Argyll Geducos and PNA)