MANILA – Malacañang on Thursday clarified that former Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairperson Martin Diño has not been offered any position in any part of the government since being eased out of the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA).
“He (Diño) has not been offered any position in any part of the government, as of yesterday (Wednesday). So, I cannot speculate on anything, except that he has not been offered any at this stage,” Presidential Spokesperson Ernesto Abella said during a Palace briefing.
The Palace official issued the statement a day after Diño said that he had accepted the post of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary for barangay affairs.
But Abella said the position offered was made much earlier.
“As far as I am privy to, the offer was made earlier, much earlier. However, that was apparently before this situation occurred, where he was replaced. That’s just a small portion of what I know. On the other hand, as I was informed, there has been no official appointment as of yesterday,” he said.
Furthermore, he said that if there was a previous offer from President Rodrigo Duterte, it was already superseded when Duterte merged the positions and functions of the SBMA chairperson and administrator.
“As far as I know, apparently there was an incident where it may have been offered. However, this was prior to the replacement, so let’s just go by that,” he said.
When asked if the offer to Diño was already withdrawn, Abella replied “I don’t know if it’s withdrawn, but it has been superseded, as far as we can see.” (PNA)
