MEMBERS of the 18th Congress have reached a consensus to pass the 2020 national budget by October to ensure that it will be transmitted to President Duterte before the year ends, a lawmaker said on Sunday.
Leyte Rep.-elect Martin Romualdez said House members will prioritize the deliberations of the 2020 national budget, apparently with an eye to avoiding the fate of the 2019 appropriations, which got snagged in a prolonged standoff between the House and Senate, forcing the government to live with the reenacted 2018 budget. The latter was seen by economists as the main factor behind the lower than expected growth in the first quarter.
With the House timetable for the 2020 budget, Romualdez said, senators will have more time to scrutinize and deliberate the proposed national budget, providing them with enough time to pass the General Appropriations Bill before the end of year.
“In consultation with my colleagues in the 18th Congress, all of them agreed to work double time to ensure that the House of Representative will approve the General Appropriations Bill before November,” said Romualdez in a statement.
“Our mission in the House: pass the GAB in October and give the Senate until early December to act on it. Then we can both approve the General Appropriations Act before the Christmas break,” said Romualdez, one of the frontrunners in the speakership race.
Romualdez said an overwhelming number of congressmen elected in the 18th Congress are supportive of President Duterte and his legislative agenda, so “No. 1 on the list of priority bills, of course, is the General Appropriations Bill for year 2020.”