CA confirms Bersamin, Diokno

MANILA, Philippines — Two of President Marcos’ most important appointees Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin and Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno earned yesterday the nod of the Commission on Appointments (CA).

The CA’s confirmation of Bersamin, a former chief justice, is much awaited since he holds the position referred to as the “little president” and primus inter pares among Cabinet secretaries.

Also given much weight by Malacañang is the confirmation of Diokno, whose department tackles policy formulation, revenue generation, resource mobilization, debt management and financial market development.

Meanwhile, the CA panel on constitutional commissions suspended yesterday deliberation on the appointment of Commission on Audit Chairman Gamaliel Cordoba due to time constraints.

The Senate had to tackle the proposed P5.268-trillion national budget for 2023 as senators are in the period of amendments.

During the confirmation deliberations, Senate President and CA chairman Juan Miguel Zubiri and a majority of CA members – senators and congressmen – were supportive of the designation of Bersamin as executive secretary.

“I fully support, 1,000 percent, 100 times 10, the nomination for executive secretary our dear former chief justice at that. It’s only once in a while, it’s probably the first time we have a chief justice applying for the CA for an executive secretary or any position for that matter. We are honored to have you here, former chief justice,” Zubiri said.

“We look forward to you, sir, being full six years of your term as ES, with the full support of the legislative branch to come in highly respected by the judiciary and all your peers that speaks a lot,” he added.

For his part, Bersamin vowed to remain approachable, accessible and decent.

He said his appointment will entail no violation of any checks and balances or any other thing because “my personality at the time that I accepted this position was no longer the personality of a judge.”

He did acknowledge that his 10 years of service in the Supreme Court would prove to “be very useful in the discharge of my personal decision, but I do not see conflicting demands of this present position.”

Bersamin served in government for a total of 36 years, 33 of which were spent as a judicial officer, as presiding judge of the Regional Trial Court in Quezon City, the Court of Appeals and SC. He was elected chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Government Service Insurance System, which worked to expand benefits for members despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

For Diokno, Zubiri and the majority of CA members were also supportive of his designation as he assured the panel that there will be no recession in the country despite inflation or increase in the price of basic commodities, threatening food shortages, weakening of the peso against the dollar and the ballooning debt under his watch.

During the CA deliberation, Diokno said that the Philippines’ economy remains strong and he addressed the concerns of ballooning public debts.

“Our public debts are manageable, not a cause for concern, though it rose during the pandemic…we have a very strong economic strategy and sound system, though not perfect,” Diokno said.

“But we have to be very careful in the budgeting and make sure every peso counts. Stricter on the expenditure side and I think we can manage our debts.”

He noted that the unemployment rate has also dropped to five percent, the lowest since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aside from careful spending, Diokno also said that digitization has been intensified now for faster transactions in businesses.

Prior to his appointment to the BSP under the Duterte administration, Diokno served his second term as secretary of the Department of Budget and Management. He first served as DBM secretary under the Estrada administration and also as budget undersecretary from 1986 to 1991 under then-president Corazon Aquino.

Rep. Johnny Pimentel asked Diokno how he earned monikers like “Mr. Horrible,” with a “Russian-style of management” and calm-under-pressure facade as he “mellowed with age and experience.”

“Why were you called Mr. Horrible?” Pimentel asked.

Diokno replied, “During my younger days I was really horrible, your honor. As you mentioned my management style is Russian and everything is rushed. When I asked my staff for something for a Cabinet meeting, and don’t deliver, I will just leave without their input. I was that horrible then.”

“During my younger years, I slept in the office. Now I let my staff go home at 6 p.m. I am not horrible now,” he added, grinning.