MANILA, Philippines — Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Commissioner Caesar Dulay has apologized to House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante for skipping the deliberations on the agency’s proposed 2021 budget.
In a text message to INQUIRER.net on Saturday, Dulay confirmed that he sent a letter of apology dated Sept. 29 to Abante and House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
In the letter, Dulay apologized to Abante for not being physically present during the deliberations for BIR’s budget for 2021.
“I sent a deputy commissioner and two assistant commissioners to assist the bill sponsor Congressman [Horacio] Suansing in addressing any questions and providing any data needed in support of the BIR budget,” Dulay’s letter read.
“It was my impression that my physical presence was not necessary and demanded during the plenary but unfortunately I was mistaken,” he added.
This comes after House of Representatives deferred the deliberations on the BIR’s budget proposal after Dulay was unable to attend.
Abante demanded that Dulay apologize to Congress for his absence in the hearing.
This was not the first time the House minority leader moved to defer the budget hearing of a government office due to the absence of its officials.
Abante previously moved to defer the deliberations of the Department of Public Works and Highways after only two undersecretaries and three assistant secretaries were physically present on the plenary floor.