MANILA – Budget secretary Wendel Avisado on Wednesday secured confirmation from the Commission on Appointments, promising an efficient and corruption-free agency.
Anyone in the department found guilty of corruption in the department will be held accountable, said Avisado, the former Davao’s city administrator. The budget chief said he would “take full responsibility.”
“I can assure you, I will be the first to go ‘pag nangyari ‘yan,” he said.
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go, who worked with Avisado in Davao City, assured the CA that the Department of Budget and Management would be in “good hands.”
Sen. Francis Tolentino described Avisado as “the best man for the job,” adding, “This man has a policy of never leaving pending documents overnight.”
“He is the first DBM secretary to submit a detailed report on appropriation, allocations, disbursements and balances every Cabinet meeting,” Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said.
“He can competently lead the DBM in its timely passage and disbursement of funds for the public,” he said.
Avisado replaced former Budget Sec. Benjamin Diokno, who was appointed Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas governor in March.
Raised in Surigao, he moved to Davao City to work as a cargo assistant, a shoe shine boy, a newspaper boy and as a jeepney driver before he graduated cum laude from the Ateneo de Davao University Law School.
He was elected Davao City councilor before his stint as Duterte’s city administrator. (ABS-CBN News)