Benjamin Diokno

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In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Estoista and the surname or paternal family name is Diokno.

The Honorable
Benjamin Diokno
Official portrait
Member of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
Assumed office
January 12, 2024
PresidentBongbong Marcos
Preceded byPeter B. Favila
32nd Secretary of Finance
In office
June 30, 2022 – January 12, 2024
PresidentBongbong Marcos
Preceded byCarlos Dominguez III
Succeeded byRalph Recto
5th Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
In office
March 4, 2019 – June 30, 2022
PresidentRodrigo Duterte
DeputyFrancisco G. Dakila, Jr.
Eduardo G. Bobier
Chuchi G. Fonacier
Mamerto Tangonan
Preceded byNestor Espenilla Jr.
Succeeded byFelipe Medalla
6th Secretary of Budget and Management
In office
June 30, 2016 – March 4, 2019
PresidentRodrigo Duterte
Preceded byFlorencio Abad
Succeeded byJanet Abuel (Officer-In-Charge)
In office
June 30, 1998 – January 20, 2001
PresidentJoseph Estrada
Preceded byEmilia Boncodin (Officer-In-Charge)
Succeeded byEmilia Boncodin
Personal details
Born
Benjamin Estoista Diokno

(1948-03-31) March 31, 1948 (age 76)
Taal, Batangas, Philippines
ChildrenCharlotte Justine Diokno-Sicat
Benjamin G. Diokno Jr.
Jonathan Neil G. Diokno
Parent(s)Leodegario Diokno y Badillo (father)
Loreta Estoista (mother)
Relatives
List
Residence(s)Quezon City, Metro Manila
Alma materUniversity of the Philippines Diliman (BA, MPA, MEc)
Johns Hopkins University (MA)
Syracuse University (Ph.D)
OccupationEconomist, public servant, university professor
SalaryIncrease ₱41.811 million (2021)[1][2]
Signature

Benjamin Estoista Diokno (born March 31, 1948) is a Filipino economist who currently serves as one of the six members of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which conducts the country's monetary policy and supervises its financial system.[3][4] Diokno previously served as Secretary of Budget and Management under President Joseph Estrada from 1998 to 2001 and under President Rodrigo Duterte from 2016 to 2019.[5][6] He also served as the Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the chairman of its Monetary Board, as well as ex officio chairman of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, from 2019 to 2022 under President Duterte[7] His last Cabinet-level position was being the Secretary of Finance from 2022 to 2024 under President Bongbong Marcos.

From 2020 to 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Diokno became the highest paid public officer in the Philippines.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Diokno is the son of Taaleños Leodegario Badillo Diokno (lived from c. 1898-August 24, 1982) and Loreta Estoista, Leodegario's second wife after the passing of his first spouse. Benjamin Diokno was born on March 31, 1948, in Taal, Batangas. His oldest brother Bayani Diokno (1943–2018), became a member of the US Navy for nearly three decades. His other siblings are Lucilo, Felipe, Emilio, Lydia (born 1942), Leonor, Amada, and Eduvijis. Leodegario Diokno was the son of Gregorio Diokno (born 1870) and grandson of Ángel Diokno (born c. 1830), the patriarch of the Taaleño surname.[8] Diokno is the second cousin once removed (through common ancestor Ángel Diokno) of Atty. Jose Manuel "Chel" Diokno of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and is six degrees apart from the attorney Sen. Jose W. Diokno, who is Atty. Chel Diokno's father and is considered as the father of human rights. Though they are under the large Diokno family that hails from Taal, the main Diokno branch represented by Chel ran against the Duterte administration in the 2019 and 2022 Senate election, the administration Benjamin Diokno served.[9]

The young Benjamin finished his bachelor's degree in a bachelor of arts program in Public Administration from the University of the Philippines (UP) Diliman in 1968, and earned his master's degree in Public Administration (1970) and Economics (1974) from the same university. Diokno was later awarded an honorary degree from UP. He also holds a Master of Arts in Political Economy (1976) from the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, USA and a Ph.D. in economics (1981) from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York, USA. His dissertation "Public Sector Resource Mobilization through Local Public Enterprises in Developing Countries : Issues, Practices and Case Studies" looked at using local public enterprise as alternative means of mobilizing funds for public purposes.[10]

Career[edit]

Diokno (center) in 2018

Undersecretary for Budget Operations, Department of Budget and Management (1986–1991)[edit]

Diokno served as undersecretary for Budget Operations of the Department of Budget and Management from 1986 to 1991 under President Corazon Aquino.[11] In this capacity, he provided technical assistance to several major reforms such as the design of the 1986 Tax Reform Program,[12] which simplified income tax and introduced the value-added tax (VAT), and the 1991 Local Government Code of the Philippines.[13]

Secretary of Budget and Management (1998–2001)[edit]

During the Estrada administration, Diokno initiated and instituted several reforms that would enhance transparency and improve the efficiency of the delivery of government services. The first major reform instituted was the "what you see is what you get" or WYSWIG policy that is a simplified system of fund release for the General Appropriations Act (GAA). This allowed agency heads to immediately plan and contract out projects by just looking at the GAA, which is available in print and at the DBM website, without waiting for the issuance of an allotment authority.[14] Diokno initiated the reform of the government procurement system (GPS) through the adoption of rapidly improving information and communications technology. He secured technical assistance from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to help the GPS develop an electronic procurement system along the lines of the Canadian model. By August 1999, the DBM had two documents necessary to initiate reforms in public procurement. In early 2000, Diokno and USAID successfully concluded a substantial technical assistance program for the DBM's budget reform programs, which now included procurement reform.[15] Other budget reforms instituted by Diokno concerned procedures for payment of accounts payable and terminal leave/ retirement gratuity benefits. The release of cash allocation were programmed and uploaded to the department's website while payments were made direct to the bank accounts of specific contractor.[14]

Secretary of Budget and Management (2016–2019)[edit]

Portrait of Diokno during his term as Secretary of Budget and Management under the Duterte administration from 2016 to 2019.

In his third tour of duty as Budget Secretary, Diokno intended to pursue an expansionary fiscal policy to finance investments in human capital development and public infrastructure. In addition, he seeks for the passage of a Budget Reform Bill to ensure the compliance of future budgets with the pertinent laws of the land. He also aims to re-organize and professionalize the bureaucracy with a Government Rightsizing Act.

Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (2019–2022)[edit]

On March 4, 2019, President Duterte appointed Diokno as the fifth Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), of which he will finish the unexpired term of his late predecessor, Nestor Espenilla Jr. which was supposed to end in July 2023.[16]

Secretary of Finance (2022–2024)[edit]

On May 26, 2022, then President-elect Bongbong Marcos announced that he would nominate Diokno as the next Finance Secretary in his incoming administration,[17] replacing Diokno in the role of the governor of BSP, with Felipe Medalla, who will finish Diokno's unexpired term.[18] Diokno subsequently took his oath at the Malacañang Palace on June 30, 2022, following the inauguration of the former as president.

On January 12, 2024, Diokno was succeeded by Batangas Representative and Deputy Speaker Ralph Recto as the Finance Secretary, after the latter was appointed by President Marcos on January 11, with Recto taking the oath of office the next day.[19][3]

Monetary Board Member of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (2024–present)[edit]

On January 12, 2024, President Marcos subsequently appointed Diokno as one of the six members of the Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, replacing Peter B. Favila in the position.[3]

Post-political life[edit]

Diokno is a professor emeritus of the School of Economics of the University of the Philippines-Diliman. He served as Fiscal Adviser to the Philippine Senate. He also served as chairman and CEO of the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) and Chairman of the Local Water Utilities Administration. He was also chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (City University of Manila).

Diokno writes a column for BusinessWorld,[20] Southeast Asia's first daily business newspaper.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ramos, Christia Marie (June 20, 2022). "Ben Diokno still highest-paid official in 2021; Calida slides down to 12th spot".
  2. ^ Cortez, Gillian (May 12, 2021). "BSP chief highest paid official in 2020, state auditors say". BusinessWorld.
  3. ^ a b c "PBBM appoints Diokno as Member of Monetary Board, thanks him for his services to the Finance department". Presidential Communications Office. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  4. ^ "Diokno as Monetary Board member: I'm now cooling down". The Philippine Star. January 15, 2024. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
  5. ^ "Estrada-era Budget Sec. Diokno accepts Duterte offer to return to post". GMA News. May 31, 2016. Retrieved May 31, 2016.
  6. ^ Benjamin Diokno curriculum vitae Archived October 9, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Duterte picks Diokno as new Bangko Sentral chief". March 4, 2019.
  8. ^ "Leodegardio Diokno y Badillo". FamilySearch.
  9. ^ Villamor, Felipe (July 23, 2018). "'Your Concern Is Human Rights, Mine Is Human Lives,' Duterte Says in Fiery Speech". The New York Times.
  10. ^ "Dissertation Abstracts International: The humanities and social sciences. A". 1982.
  11. ^ Managing the Politics of Reform - ISBN 0-8213-6435-9 Archived June 9, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  12. ^ University of the Philippines Discussion Paper No. 0502
  13. ^ Republic Act No. 7160
  14. ^ a b Department of Budget and Management
  15. ^ Campos & Syquia. 2006. Managing the Politics of Reform: Overhauling the Legal Infrastructure of Public Procurement in the Philippines. World Bank Working Paper No. 70
  16. ^ Alegado, Siegfrid (March 4, 2019). "Philippines Names Diokno as Central Bank Chief in Surprise Move". www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 5, 2019.
  17. ^ "Marcos Jr. picks BSP Governor Diokno as next finance secretary". Philippine Star. May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  18. ^ Fenol, Jessica (June 30, 2022). "PROFILE: Seasoned economist Felipe Medalla taking helm of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas". ABS-CBN News. Retrieved June 30, 2022.
  19. ^ Bajo, Anna Felicia (January 12, 2024). "Marcos swears in Ralph Recto as Finance chief". GMA News. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
  20. ^ BusinessWorld Online: Core - By Benjamin E. Diokno: "Doubting investors"[permanent dead link]

External links[edit]

Government offices
Preceded by Governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
2019–2022 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Secretary of Budget and Management
1998–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Secretary of Budget and Management
2016–2019 		Succeeded by
Janet Abuel
Officer-in-charge
Preceded by Secretary of Finance
2022–2024 		Succeeded by
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