Diokno refutes Andaya’s allegations as ‘illusory’

Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Friday refuted the allegations by House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) supposedly favored a contractor, as well as various issues concerning the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget.

“His accusations are illusory. The numbers are wrong and the narrative he’s selling is not grounded on facts,” Diokno said in a statement.

In Naga City on Thursday, the House Committee on Rules conducted a hearing on supposed anomalies in the proposed 2019 national budget.

During the hearing, Andaya presented a deposit slip for P11 million that supposedly proved a payout made by the government in favor of Aremar Construction Corp. He also claimed that Aremar’s joint venture partner, CT Leoncio Construction, was simply a front receiving commission fees for government projects. 

Andaya questioned the following joint venture projects handled by CT Leoncio and Aremar:

• Ariman-Casiguran Road for P47 million

• Barcelona-Casiguran Diversion Road for P96 million

• A tourism road in Bulusan National Park  for P115 million

• A section of Daang Maharlika Road in Sorsogon  for P289 million

Aremar Construction is owned by Maria Minez Hamor, daughter of Edwin and Ester Hamor. Edwin is running for reelection as mayor of Casiguran in Sorsogon, according to the lawmaker.

Diokno’s daughter Charlotte is married to Mayor Hamor's son, Jojo Sicat.

Diokno, however, emphasized that the DBM does not have any role in awarding government projects to contractors.

“The DBM is not involved in the implementation of projects and awarding of contracts. Contracts are awarded to contractors after open and competitive bidding in accordance with the Republic Act 9184 or the Government Procurement Reform Act,” he said.

“Again, the role of the DBM is to set the budget ceiling for the line agencies and to evaluate whether their programs are aligned with the government’s priorities,” the Cabinet official noted.

On Andaya’s allegations regarding the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) budget for 2019, Diokno noted there were no insertions.

“Of the P652 billion budget proposal of the DPWH in 2019, P132.5 billion was for flood control projects (including foreign-assisted projects). In the 2019 National Expenditure Program, flood control projects by the DPWH totaled P114.3 billion (including foreign-assisted projects), well below its initial funding request for flood control structures," Diokno said.

“More so, the DBM is not privy to the breakdown of DPWH projects per district. It is DPWH, as an implementing agency, that determines the specific project listing for the projects under each program and region,” the Cabinet official said.

The adjustments made in the DPWH budget for 2019 are not “insertions,” and the Public Works department knew about increase.

“The original budget proposal of the DPWH was P652 billion, not P488 billion as Congressman Andaya claimed in the Question Hour last Dec. 11, 2018. The DBM then initially approved P480.2 billion out of the P652 billion budget request of the DPWH,” he said.

“But in the final phase of budget preparation, the total public infrastructure budget was still short of the government’s commitment to disburse at least 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) for infrastructure. This is why the budget of the DPWH was adjusted by P75.5 billion,” he added.

DPWH filled out its budgetary allocations with specific project listing, according to the Cabinet official.

“The mandate of the DBM is limited to setting the budget ceiling and evaluating agency proposals by program (not by project because that is the role of the implementing agency),” he said.

“Hence, in the 2019 National Expenditure Program, the total budget for the DPWH is P555.7 billion. This was presented and approved by the Cabinet in a meeting on July 9, 2018,” he added. —VDS, GMA News