MANILA, Philippines – The Commission on Appointments (CA) recently confirmed University of the Philippines economist Benjamin E. Diokno as Budget and Management Secretary, making him the first member of the Duterte Cabinet to get the bicameral body’s nod.
All 21 members of the CA, composed of members of the Senate and the House of Representatives, approved the motions to confirm Diokno, highlighting his expertise and competence.
In his sponsorship speech on the confirmation, Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri echoed Diokno’s mantra: “What Congress had appropriated, the Executive should have expended.”
Senator Loren Legarda, a co-sponsor of the confirmation, vouched for Diokno’s “unquestionable competence” and “expertise in the field of economics and extensive experience in introducing reforms in the public sector.
Senator Ralph Recto, another co-sponsor noted that Secretary Diokno “has been involved in preparing or executing 12 national budgets – from the time of typewriters to the age of Twitter – and that alone speaks volumes of his competence for the job”.
Diokno is already on his third tour of duty at the DBM. He has previously been appointed to the Cabinet of Presidents Corazon Aquino and Joseph Estrada. Diokno has also been teaching for more than two decades at the University of the Philippines, as a Professor of Economics. He’s been in government service for 49 years.
All Cabinet officials, as well as presidential appointments to other key positions, require approval from the CA as part of the checks and balances between the executive and the legislative.
DBM Secretary, first member of Duterte cabinet to be confirmed by CA
