Duterte ready to talk with Rio

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte is ready to talk to Department of Information and Communications Technology Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. to look into some concerns in the DICT following his offer to resign over the use of the agency’s-funds.

According to Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, the President has been vocal about listening to the reports of corruption in government since he assumed office.

“The President is always open to meet with everybody. He has always said if anybody has a complaint, everybody who has a complaint, even the private sector, Malacañang is always open, papakinggan niya,” Nograles said yesterday.

Rio resigned end January, citing alleged anomalies in the disbursement of the DICT’s funds for “confidential, intelligence and extraordinary expenses” which he warned were not subject to regular audit. 

The 2019 national budget allotted P400 million worth of confidential and intelligence funds to the DICT.   

Rio claimed that cash advances from these funds amounting to P300 million have been released to DICT Secretary Gringo Honasan toward the end of 2019, without the required notice of cash allotment from the Department of Budget and Management.

Nograles added that there are mechanisms in place in the government to look into complaints or reports of corruption, referring to the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission, Commission on Audit and the President’s complaint hotline 8888.

Since Rio is a known ally of the President and once a part of the executive branch, Nograles expressed belief that he knows ways to reach Duterte to air his concerns.

Nograles said the President did not discuss the matter during the Cabinet meeting last Tuesday where the Chief Executive also met and exchanged pleasantries with Honasan, a former senator.

Nograles remains optimistic that matters can still be ironed out between the DICT officials, especially since the President has seemingly not accepted Rio’s resignation.

“I think we should give the DICT family the first chance to respond if they would. It would be Sec. Honasan who would be holding a dialogue with the President himself, if need be,” said Nograles, who has not confirmed if Rio’s resignation letter has reached the President’s desk.

The other day, PACC commissioner Greco Belgica said the body will conduct a fact-finding investigation on Rio’s claims on the disbursement of confidential funds by the agency.

Belgica noted that the allegations were serious enough to merit an inquiry, stressing the need to hear all sides of the story.

Rio filed his resignation letter last weekend over his alleged displeasure on the use of contingency funds at DICT without his knowledge when he was supposed to be undersecretary for operations. Honasan has been quiet about the issue.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson have filed Senate Resolution 310 creating the “Select Oversight Committee on Intelligence and Confidential Funds, Programs and Activities” that will probe allegations of Rio against Honasan, who allegedly released some P300 million in confidential fund under suspicious circumstances.

Sotto, Lacson, and Honasan are known to be close friends. Sotto and Lacson, chairman of the Senate committee on national defense and security, said the inquiry will be objective and fair.

“We will take everything as laid out. This is in aid of legislation, so there’s an inquiry, so if there’s any need to change the system of funding or whatever, not only in the DICT, then the committee or the oversight committee… we’ll take everything on face value. Whatever’s presented, whatever’s the complaint, we’ll discuss it,” he said.

The probe however may come in two weeks at the earliest as the chamber has to approve the resolution and elect its members.  – With Delon Porcalla, Paolo Romero, Artemio Dumlao