The chairman of the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations has volunteered to brief Palace officials on embattled Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s alleged anomalous budget practices to spare President Rodrigo Duterte’s “Build, Build, Build” Program from being jeopardized.
“The Build, Build, Build Program of the President is in peril. An economic slowdown is imminent. All of these, thanks to Secretary Diokno’s anomalous budget practices,” said Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., the panel chairman.
Diokno vehemently denied all the allegations against him by Andaya.
Andaya earlier lamented that concerned Department of Budget and Management and Department of Public Works and Highways’ employees had intimated to him that the total amount of unpaid contracts for 2018 infrastructure projects have risen from P44 billion last November to more than P100 billion at the end of the year.
Andaya alleged this bred corruption as some contractors reportedly forced themselves to resort to bribery just to get paid.
In Malacañang, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo told Andaya to stop lawyering for the contractors.
But Andaya advised Panelo to talk to Diokno for him to get informed about the alleged “dark secrets lurking in the Department of Budget and Management.”
“If Malacañang wants a briefing on these anomalies, my line is open. I can rush to the Palace any time of the day,” Andaya said.
“Secretary Panelo better talk to Secretary Diokno, man-to-man. He has many secrets that are not known about the DBM,” Andaya pointed out. “The P100-billion payables are just the tip of the iceberg,” he added.
The “Build, Build, Build” Program of Duterte aims to accelerate infrastructure spending and develop industries that will yield robust growth, create jobs and improve the lives of Filipinos.
It was reported that public spending on infrastructure projects is targeted at P8 to 9 trillion from 2017 to 2022.