Duterte has yet to act on Rio resignation — Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has yet to decide whether or not to accept the resignation of Undersecretary Eliseo Rio Jr. from the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), Malacañang said yesterday.

“As to Rio, his (the President’s) office has received the resignation letter but he has not read it,” presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a text message to reporters.

“As to allegations of Rio that he will listen to him when they meet but no schedule yet,” he added.

Meanwhile, the President will monitor the outcome of the Senate inquiry into the issues aired by Rio regarding the disbursement of P300 million of the DICT’s confidential expenses, said Panelo.

Rio’s announcement of his resignation and his sentiments on how the fund is being spent has put DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan II on the spot and their working relationship under scrutiny.

Last Monday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Sen. Panfilo Lacson announced the filing of Senate Resolution No. 310, which revives a special Senate committee that would look into the disbursement of intelligence funds of various government agencies.

Sotto and Lacson are former colleagues of Honasan who, during his time as senator, belonged to the same so-called “macho bloc” in the Senate.

Last Friday, Honasan and Rio executed a joint statement saying that they have agreed “to settle their differences” while assuring the public that the DICT’s fund disbursements were above board.

It stated that Rio’s “personal opinion” that spending on surveillance and intelligence are beyond the agency’s mandate was “misinterpreted” and did not intend to suggest an anomaly in the DICT.

“We have reassessed the situation and have mutually agreed to settle our differences… To set the record straight, Usec. Rio never mentioned any anomaly in the disbursement of the Confidential Expense of the DICT,” the joint statement said. 

The officials said all confidential funds disbursed by the agency were “lawful and legitimate” and that ensuring privacy, security and confidentiality in ICT-related matters is part of the agency’s mandate, the statement said.

In an interview with The STAR last Friday, Rio confirmed he was accepting the department position on the regularity of the spending of the fund.

He said that since he has no investigatory position, he will also await the results of investigations into the disbursement of the P300-million confidential expenses.

Rio also said he has not withdrawn his resignation. “I’m just waiting for the acceptance of my resignation by the President. I did not withdraw my resignation. It’s up to the President to accept it or not,” he told The STAR over the phone.