Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III on Friday, August 26 challenged Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman and Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service (DBM-PS) Executive Director Dennis Santiago to fix the agency and try to prevent it from being abolished.

Pimentel warned there is already a prevailing sentiment among members of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to abolish the DBM-PS.

“So that's why it’s a challenge, it’s still a challenge to the new head of the DBM-PS, as well as the Secretary of the DBM. Alam mo kung nasisira ang DBM-PS, nasisira ang DBM (You know if the DBM-PS is broken, the DBM is also broken),” Pimentel said in an interview with reporters.

Pimentel warned the corruption issues hounding the government procurement arm is practically destroying the image of the “mother agency” which is the DBM.

“So the challenge is not only directed to the executive director Atty. Santiago, as well as the Secretary of the DBM,” he said.

“Ayusin ninyo ang DBM-PS and lets have some spectacular achievements. Pero kung wala, kunyari cosmetic lang, nag-reorganize na kami, bago na ang head nito, binago namin yung form, e hindi po impressive changes yan (So fix the DBM-PS and let’s have some spectacular achievements. But if there is none, if the changes are already cosmetic, merely reorganizing, changing the head, changing the form, then that’s not considered impressive changes),” he added.

“Sa ngayon, I can say na ang prevailing sentimyento dyan sa committee or at least sa mga nag-attend sa hearing is good bye DBM-PS na (For now, I can say that the prevailign sentiment in the committee, or at least from those who attended the hearing is, to say goodbye DBM-PS),” he pointed out.

Asked if Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Leonor Briones following her participation in the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the P2.4-billion overpriced laptop mess, Pimentel answered in the negative.

“Wala pong off the hook kasi umpisa pa lang tayo e. Diba ang ginawa ni Chairman (Sen. Francis) Tolentino, step by step or stages. Nandoon pa siya sa pre-bidding stage (No one is off the hook yet because we are just starting. The chairman Sen. Tolentino is doing it step by step or by stages. He is still at the pre-bidding stage),” Pimentel explained.

Tolentino, in an interview on ABS-CBN News Channel (ANC), affirmed he cannot make a definite conclusion as of now, but also recognizes there was “command responsibility” on the part of the former DepEd chief.

“I don’t see enough fingerprints that would involve the good secretary. But, of course, her signatures are there...So, let’s just wait for the outcome and I promise that we will have an outcome,” Tolentino said.

At the same time, Pimentel expressed his belief former DBM-PS officer-in-charge Christopher Lloyd Lao, who signed the memorandum of agreement (MOA) on the laptop procurement deal with Briones, should not be excused from the Senate probe.

“I don’t have any conclusion yet but I his request niya to be excused from the hearings should be denied because of the MOA,” Pimentel said.

“It’s too early for him to say he should not attend the hearings because he’s not involved in the transactions, because he is involved. It was in the MOA. So no one should be off the hook yet. No one should be excused from the hearings for now,” he said.