Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno on Monday debunked accusations that he is in cahoots with Cabinet Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles to make President Duterte veto the General Appropriations Bill to restore the P75 billion he allegedly inserted.
Calling the allegations of House Appropriations Commitee Chairman Rep. Rolando G. Andaya Jr. “baseless,” “premature” and “irresponsible,” Diokno said they have yet to receive the enrolled copy of the budget bill, which was ratified by both Houses of Congress on Friday after a two-month delay.
“Our job is to provide the President the facts and options so he can exercise his constitutional duty to act on the budget bill once it arrives on his desk, including the option to exercise his line-item veto power,” he said in a statement.
While Diokno said that Congress has the authority to override the President’s veto with two-thirds vote, he also thinks it is “irresponsible for a legislator to threaten the President with a suit in the exercise of his power to line-item veto some objectionable amendments made by Congress.”
Andaya on Sunday said he will be joining Senator Panfilo Lacson Sr. and Senate Majority Leader Franklin Drilon in questioning the veto message before the Supreme Court.
Malacañang, however, said it is within the right of Congress to question anything that they feel should be subject to petition before the Supreme Court.
“That’s their right and, in fact, that’s their duty if they feel that they are correct. Let the Supreme Court decide,” said Presidential Spokesman and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Salvador S. Panelo in a Palace briefing on Monday.
He also said the lawmakers don’t need to go to the Supreme Court should they have a problem with the veto message of the President.
“What they [lawmakers] can do under the Constitution is to override the veto. You don’t have to go to the Supreme Court. The President vetoes the measure, Congress can override the veto by the required number of votes,” he added.
But the budget chief said they will scrutinize the budget as submitted by Congress, line by line, as the DBM will prepare a Statement of Difference to compare it with the President’s budget.
“We do not claim monopoly of fiscal wisdom. Hence, we will provide the President the option to veto or accept the amendment. If the congressional amendment is an improvement over the President’s proposal, we will propose adoption; otherwise, we will propose line-item veto. Congress has done its constitutional duty to review, amend and finally authorize the budget. Now, it’s the duty of the President to approve, approve with line-item veto, or veto altogether the whole budget,” he added.
The BusinessMirror sought the comment of Nograles on Andaya’s new allegation but he has yet to respond, as of press time.
Prior to his appointment as Cabinet secretary, Nograles was the chairman of the same House committee now chaired by Andaya. Last week Nograles assured the public that the 2019 national budget will be pork-free despite the issues surrounding it.
Diokno has since denied calling the P75 billion an “insertion” to the budget of the DPWH as this was just part of the budget process. He said it was not an insertion as this was just part of the “final adjustments” since they found out that they are still short in their commitment to disburse the equivalent of 5 percent of GDP for infrastructure spending.