COLUMN: OPINION ON PAGE ONE- Is House resolution a sign of revolt? – – By Francisco S. Tatad

EXCEPT for his closest Cabinet colleagues, no one in government spoke in defense of Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno after the House “supermajority” and its authorized “minority” called on President Rodrigo Duterte, by resolution, to “reconsider” his appointment, for allegedly “inserting” P75 billion in the proposed P3.757 trillion 2019 budget, for the benefit of some favored private contractors in Luzon. Diokno denied the allegation, and DU30 did nothing to consider the House resolution. But the action of the House amounted to a vote of no confidence, and raised serious questions about DU30’s hold on his allies in Congress.

How long can Diokno continue holding on to his job, after that House resolution? The resolution came after his intense grilling at the House during the Question Hour, where he tried to assure the congressmen there was no “insertion” but merely an “adjustment” in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). DPWH had originally requested P652 billion, but got P488 billion only, leaving a shortfall of P164 billion. This was then “adjusted” to P555 billion, equivalent to 5 percent of the gross national product.

Question Hour
The adjustment was reportedly done before the House approved the budget on third reading, giving the supermajority ample time and opportunity to examine it and correct any mistake. But instead of doing so, they resorted to the Question Hour and the House resolution. The Question Hour is a regular feature of parliamentary government, which the Constitution wrote into the presidential system to allow a sober and responsible discussion of issues between members of the Executive department and Congress. To make sure it is not abused, there are rules on what questions may be asked and in what manner they may be asked.

Under Sec. 22, Article VI of the Constitution, “the heads of departments may upon their own initiative, with the consent of the President, or upon the request of either House, as the rules of each House shall provide, appear before and be heard by such House on any matter pertaining to their departments. Written questions shall be submitted to the President of the Senate or the Speaker of the House of Representatives at least three days before their scheduled appearance. Interpellations shall not be limited to written questions, but may cover matters related thereto.”

Pursuant thereto, Section 53 of House Rule 13 says: “Questions should not contain arguments and offensive or unparliamentary language and must not include names or statements other than what is strictly necessary to make the question intelligible.”

Taking Diokno’s measure
The House resolution came after the Question Hour. The congressmen apparently wanted to take a measure of Diokno first before asking DU30 to “reconsider” his appointment. It was the first time the House used the Question Hour to lay the basis for asking the resignation of a major Cabinet member. Based on the snippets I have read, there was no marked effort to live up to the written rules. The congressmen tended to be all accusatory and the Cabinet member tended to be not completely parliamentary either.

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Suarez’s and Andaya’s roles
As Budget secretary, Diokno’s official acts carry the President’s imprimatur. No minority resolution calling for his ouster should have gone beyond the reading of its title. But Minority Leader Danilo Suarez’s resolution breezed through the floor, without any spirited debates or interpellations. It turned out to be a supermajority measure that carried the odor of rebellion.

The supermajority chose not to regard Diokno as the President’s alter ego and themselves as his legislative allies; otherwise they would not have done what they did just to bring their grievances against Diokno to DU30’s attention. Could they not have aired the same grievances in closed door “executive consultations” with DU30, without resorting to a nearly unanimous resolution? In a real sense, the resolution did not just attack Diokno, it also embarrassed DU30 and laid bare a big farce in the House.

It exposed the minority leader Danilo Suarez as a covert member of the supermajority that installed former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo as Speaker. In helping to oust former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and put Mrs. Arroyo in his place, Suarez managed to retain the minority chair through a twisted interpretation of parliamentary rules. In any decent parliament or Congress, those who support the new Speaker automatically become part of the majority and cannot be shoved back to the minority or opposition.

More than all these, in adopting the resolution on Diokno, the supermajority, represented by Majority Floor Leader Rolando Andaya Jr., GMA’s budget secretary when she was president, and without one spoken word from GMA, demonstrated its latent capacity to stand up to Malacanang, if and when warranted. Did they really intend to bring down Diokno, or was the resolution against him just a shot across the bow?

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Amazing speed
The ease with which the House approved the resolution was nothing short of phenomenal. They approved it with the same speed as when the corrupted House, at then-president B. S. Aquino 3rd’s behest, approved the impeachment complaint against the late former Chief Justice Renato Corona, and faster than the House committee on justice dismissed the impeachment complaint by the Magdalo party-list congressmen against DU30.

This has prompted some observers to wonder whether it was not some kind of “dry run” for a more serious initiative, like a new impeachment complaint against the President. After the Magdalo complaint was thrown out, the Diokno resolution may have shown interested parties that things have changed. The thought is hard to imagine, but it is not beyond imagining. It could happen still.

Congress adjourned on December 12, without passing the 2019 budget. For now, there is no P3.757 trillion budget for the congressmen to quarrel about. The government will be operating on a smaller “reenacted 2018 budget,” back to the days under president GMA when for several times it had to operate under such a budget. But Congressman Andaya will continue to press for Diokno’s resignation, and the House will most likely not withraw its allegations, nor apologize, even after some Cabinet members had accused the House of bullying and disrespecting their colleague.

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Seed of rebellion
Can Diokno continue to function as budget secretary while he remains under a cloud? That is an important question, but the more important question has to do with DU30’s real relationship with his allies in Congress. Has the passage of that House resolution significantly altered that relationship? Of course the May 2019 elections could alter the composition of the next Congress. Speaker Arroyo herself will be termed out, and could occupy a Cabinet post if one is offered and accepted. But will the seed of rebellion planted by the Diokno resolution in the outgoing Congress put out roots in the next?

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