By Butch Fernandez & Jovee Marie N. dela Cruz
AMID allegations that the proposed 2019 General Appropriations Act contained pork barrel “insertions,” the leadership of the House of Representatives on Wednesday opposed the proposal of the Senate to stick to a reenacted 2018 budget.
House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Rolando G. Andaya Jr. urged the Senate not to abandon the ongoing bicameral conference committee hearing on the P3.757-trillion national budget.
“It is a matter internal to the Senate. But on the part of the House, our position remains unchanged: We want a new budget. We are against a reenacted one,” he said.
According to Andaya, the failure of 22 senators to itemize their insertions has stalled the passage of the 2019 national budget.
“So far, senators’ amendments are all in general terms, shall we say lump sums. So we have to get the details of their amendments,” he said.
“Long before senators called for transparency, we have unilaterally announced that we are ready and willing to disclose and justify our amendments to the national budget,” Andaya added.
‘Withdrawal’ proposed
Andaya issued the statement after Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III proposed the “withdrawal” of the 2019 budget bill. “I am proposing that considering that there are so many allegations concerning insertions, pork barrel and institutional amendments.”
Sotto added he saw little chance that the Senate and the House panels tasked to reconcile conflicting provisions in the two chambers’ version of the 2019 budget bill could reach an accord on the final annual money measure that Congress is expected to submit to President Duterte for signing into law.
“I don’t seem to see that there is going to be an agreement,” Sotto told reporters. “And if the allegations are serious, then it’s better that we just withdraw.”
The Senate President said he will propose to Sen. Loren B. Legarda, who chairs the Senate’s Finance Committee, “that we withdraw the Senate’s version of the bill and that we will have to stay with a reenacted budget for 2019.”
Sotto believes that taking such a firm stand will erase all negative allegations surrounding congressional action on the budget bill, adding that they can live with a reenacted budget and end all unsavory insinuations against members of Congress.
Pork barrel?
On Tuesday, Andaya hinted at the possibility of Congress’ failure to approve the 2019 national budget before adjourning on February 6 for the May elections.
“We are prepared to own up to what we are requesting for, down to the district level, and we are open to having the whole process open to media. We are willing to break it down,” he said.
For her part, Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said the
Senate should explain its P190-billion “insertions” under the
proposed budget.
“I think you have read in the newspapers that the Senate owned up to P200 billion in their own amendments. So that has to be sorted out between the House and the Senate,” Arroyo said. “Well of course we want to have it come out before it’s too late.”
Last Monday, the Senate and the House of Representatives temporarily agreed to set to P50 billion their “re-prioritization” projects.
The agreement came after the House bared at the recent bicameral conference that senators introduced almost P190 billion in so-called insertions.
Lawmakers also clarified that these “institutionalized amendments” are not the unconstitutional “pork barrel.”
The Senate has yet to identify which programs or projects will be funded under these re-prioritization projects.
“I urge my Senate friends not to abandon the bicameral conference proceedings. I remain hopeful of a positive outcome,” Andaya said.
Scenarios
In a news briefing, Deputy Minority Leader Anthony Bravo of Coop Natcco party-list said the proposal of the Senate President may lead to a no-election scenario.
According to Bravo, there was no allocation for the 2019 mid-term elections under the reenacted 2018 national budget.
“If we fail to pass this budget, we might not have the election [in May]. We need to pass the budget to finance the May elections,” he added.
Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno refused to comment and deferred to Palace when asked for comment on Sotto’s recommendation to withdraw the Senate version of the General Appropriations Bill and go for a reenacted budget.
“The Palace will issue a statement,” Diokno said in a text message to reporters.
However, the Palace has yet to issue a statement, as of press time.
Diokno confirmed Sotto’s statement that the 2019 elections will not be affected if the government operates on a full-year reenacted budget since the funding for it has been already included in last year’s appropriations.
The National Economic and Development Authority projected that the GDP growth will be reduced by 1.6 to 2.3 percentage points if the budget is reenacted for the full year.
The government is targeting to achieve 7-8 percent economic growth this year.