Diokno hopes next budget chief won’t be ”politician” or ”ex-politician”

March 6, 2019

Incoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor Benjamin Diokno on Wednesday hopes the next budget secretary will not be a “politician” or even a “former politician”.

“There are many names being floated but I hope the next DBM secretary is not a politician,” Diokno said in his last press briefing as the budget secretary.

Diokno gave no comment when asked on the possibility of House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as the next budget ecretary.

“That is speculative. I don’t want to comment on that,” he said. “Not politician or ex-politician,” he reiterated.

Diokno said he recommended Undersecretary Janet Abuel as acting secretary during the transition as the president has yet to appoint his replacement.

He added Abuel will continue his cash-based budgeting and “Green, Green, Green” project.

“Everything that I have started will continue because that’s the only way we can do what we are expected to do,” said Diokno.

“We needed to pursue this (cash-based budgeting) if we want to accomplish what the president wants to do for this country. Our BBB (Build, Build, Build) rests... (a) great deal in changing the way we do budgeting so we really need to pursue cash-based budgeting,” he added. Ella Dionisio/DMS