MANILA (UPDATE) — The Commission on Appointments approved Wednesday the designations of Benjamin Diokno as Department of Finance (DOF) secretary and Lucas Bersamin as Executive Secretary.

Bersamin, a former Supreme Court chief justice, was the first to face the CA members. Bersamin was chairperson of the Government Service Insurance System before he was appointed by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. as executive secretary.

• Ex-chief justice Lucas Bersamin is Marcos' new executive secretary

Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda pushed for the speedy approval of the ad interim appointment of Bersamin, citing his experience and character.

"With all the problems in the country that the Executive Secretary, known as the Little President, has to handle, having been the Chief Justice of our land with such esteemed vision and character, there is no need to delay, nothing to investigate with Chief Justice Bersamin as Executive Secretary," Legarda said.

Meanwhile, Senators Imee Marcos and Risa Hontiveros asked Bersamin about various issues hounding the executive department.

Marcos questioned the slow rollout of appointments to key positions in various government agencies such as at the Department of Health (DOH) and other priority areas.

"I am certain that you can get a handle on this situation but it is almost half a year now and the people expect a level of urgency and commitment to filling up all these positions, some of them are very high and of urgent priority,” Marcos said.

Bersamin said his office was carefully studying the matter and trying to put everything into proper order.

Diokno's confirmation was also a breeze after he received endorsement from several lawmakers.

• Finance chief Diokno not bothered by rumors he may soon be replaced

Diokno headed the Department of Budget and Management from 2016 to 2019 under President Rodrigo Duterte, and from 1998 to 2001 under President Joseph Estrada. He was also a former governor of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go expressed his full support for the appointment of Diokno.

“Sec. Diokno is not only known for his proficiency in economics and tax reform, but more importantly for his integrity and competence. With his skills, competence and experience, I believe that Sec. Diokno is the best person for this position,” Go said.

Meanwhile, Dioko was asked about the ballooning debt of the country, which hit P13.02 trillion as of the end of August, according to the Bureau of Treasury.

• National gov't debt rises to P13.02 trillion as of end-August

Diokno said the public should not be alarmed by the figure.

"Actually our public debt it is manageable. Let’s put it that way. This should not be a cause for concern," he said.

"We will use digitalization. At the same time, we have to be very careful in our budgeting. We have to make sure that every peso counts. So higher revenues, stricter on the expenditure side, I think we can manage our debt," he added.

Diokno also projects that with the economic team's "very strong economic strategy," the Philippine economy may grow by 6.5 to 8 percent in the next 6 years, adding that recession is "unlikely."

"Given the data that we have under extreme conditions, we will not have recession."

The CA approved Bersamin and Diokno's appointments during its plenary session in the afternoon.

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