MANILA, Philippines ? Lawmakers on Monday turned the hearing on the budget of the Department of Interior of Local Government (DILG) into a forum for grilling Secretary Jesse Robredo over his handling of the August 23 hostage-taking incident, chiding him for not taking responsibility and allowing President Benigno Aquino III to own up to the fiasco.
Ilocos Norte Representative Rodolfo Farinas stopped short of telling Robredo to resign from his post, saying ?it is the duty of the Cabinet to take the bullet for the President, not vice versa.?
?I?m sure the President would have denied your offer of resignation, but at least it should have come,? Farinas told Robredo.
Robredo replied, saying, ?I?m willing to take the bullet for the President. ? You know, I?m [dispensable], the President is not, I just have to clarify myself because he volunteered to clarify.?
The President has taken the blame for the bungled hostage rescue operation that resulted in the death of eight Hong Kong tourists on August 23 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila.
?At the end of the day, I am responsible for everything that has transpired,? Mr. Aquino had said.
Several lawmakers, like Farinas, did not take it well that Robredo has appeared to spare himself from the responsibility by pointing out that it was DILG Undersecretary Rico E. Puno, who was responsible for police operations.
Citing Republic Act 6795 or the DILG Act of 1990, Minority leader and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman pointed out that in the hierarchy of responsibility within the DILG, the secretary is responsible for the Philippine National Police.
?No amount of designation given to an undersecretary would relieve the statutory responsibility of the department secretary, to my mind all these provisions (in the law) would belie your contention that since Undersecretary Puno was given special authority, that would relieve you of the responsibility,? Lagman said.
Robredo reasoned that the same law states that the National Police Commission (Napolcom) is a ?collegial body within the department? that exercises administrative control over the PNP.?
Echoing Lagman, Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros Magsaysay also criticized Robredo for seemingly absolving himself from the responsibility of the fiasco and allowing the President to do it.
?Isn?t it your job to protect the President from this brickbats and criticisms? ... It saddens me that the President ends up owning up the responsibility when everybody sitting here in front of me should have owned up to it... It is embarrassing that you did not own up to the responsibility,? Magsaysay said.
At one point, both Lagman and Magsaysay, who are members of the minority were questioned by neophyte lawmakers, Batangas Representative Tomas Apacible and San Juan City Representative Joseph Victor Ejercito for exceeding the 10-minute limit given to each. Lagman and Magsaysay shot back, telling the first-timers to learn from the veterans like them.
?It is best to initiate the neophytes to the policy questions in relation to the budget,? Lagman said.
Magsaysay said it is important to raise policy questions on how the DILG operates because Congress would be entrusting billions in pesos to the agency as its budget.
The DILG is asking for P86.9 billion for 2011, or 32 percent higher that its budget for this year. Robredo said the bulk of the increase, P21.3 billion, represents new spending proposals for personnel services, maintenance and operating expenses and capital outlay.
By agency, the proposed budget allocates P69.4 billion to the PNP; P7.2 billion to the Bureau of Fire Protection; P5.1 billion to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology; P2.5 billion to the Office of the DILG Secretary; P1.3 billion to the Napolcom; P1 billion to the Philippine Public Safety College; and, P105 million to the Local Government Academy.
