By Butch Fernandez and Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz
SENATE leaders are moving to avert a repeat of the 2019 budget standoff, a scenario that could happen next month if Congress fails to pass the Palace-proposed P4.1-trillion 2020 budget before lawmakers adjourn for their traditional yearend recess on December 20.
Senators on Monday signalled a readiness to work overtime to wrap up their final version of the budget bill, to pave the way for convening the Senate-House conference committee to reconcile differing provisions in the two chambers’ versions, and subsequently have the reconciled version approved before their Christmas break.
Majority Leader Miguel Zubiri confirmed that the senators are set to “open discussions of the 2020 budget on general principles” Tuesday with at least 10 vice chairmen of the finance committee also expected to deliver co-sponsorship speeches.
Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, chairman of the sponsoring Finance Committee, confirmed on Monday that health, education and social services were prioritized in the committee report on the P41.1-trillion 2020 national budget being endorsed for plenary approval.
In a statement, Angara credited fellow senators with “further raising the compassion index” of the 2020 national budget by hiking allocations for social services.
Angara also gave assurances the amendments endorsed by the Senate finance committee in the proposed education, health and social welfare programs were “targeted and transparent.”
The senator also cited “a bipartisan consensus to increase funds for the repair of earthquake-damaged schools, school vouchers, free college, school feeding, help for indigent patients, and the deployment of nurses, doctors to poor areas, among others.”
Angara said the “budgetary augmentations” were recommended by the vice chairmen of the Senate’s budget-writing committee “upon the request of the (Executive) departments.”
He added that upon the recommendation of Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto and Sen. Pia Cayetano, the Department of Education’s budget was increased by P6.2 billion to “prevent the dropping out of senior high school students studying in private schools using government vouchers.”
Angara said the amount will also bankroll the completion of the equipment, facility and teaching needs of hard-to-reach “Last Mile Schools” and for the conservation of the heritage Gabaldon school buildings.
“For higher education, the Senate has filled the large holes in the CHED budget, by increasing the funds for the Student Financial Assistance Program by P8.5 billion,” the senator said, adding that “the same amount is also added for next year’s implementation of the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act,” a law authored by Angaral.
He confirmed that through the intervention of Sen. Joel Villanueva, research grants were raised to P116 million, distributed across the state universities and colleges and the UP System. “He added that P167 million were set aside for cash grants for medical scholars in state universities and colleges.
The Department of Information and Communications Technology, through the efforts of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, was provided with an additional P4 billion for its programs such as the building of digital classrooms, workforce, workplace and communities and the free Wi-Fi in public spaces, added Angara.
According to Angara, other boosted health expenditures include the P9.439- billion fund to aid poor patients in both private and public hospitals. To prevent the mass layoff of nurses, doctors, midwives and other health professionals deployed to “underdeveloped and unserved” areas, Angara said the Senate finance panel allotted P7 billion for their continued employment in 2020. “We are also funding affordable but critical medical projects, like a 24-hour Mental Health Hotline to be manned by qualified health professionals,” he said.
The senator said the DSWD’s budget for its flagship Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) will be P108.7 billion, “to comply with the recently passed law institutionalizing the program.”
Angara also praised Senator Imee Marcos for supporting the increase in the budget of the DSWD’s Supplementary Feeding Program from P3.6 billion to P6.6 billion to ensure children in preschool, kindergarten and public day care centers are provided with hot meals, which, he added, is also “an advocacy of Senator Grace Poe.”
Meanwhile, Congress is eyeing to approve the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) earlier than expected next month, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said on Monday.
With this, Cayetano said the House of Representatives will have time to pass other priority measures before Congress goes on recess on December 18.
“We want to finish 2019 and enter 2020 with most of the priorities passed already. Having more measures passed on second reading than third reading would be realistic,” said Speaker Cayetano.
According to Cayetano, lawmakers are following the timeline of Angara — wherein the bicameral conference meeting starts by end-November and then the GAB is done by December 5.
“We’re following Senator Angara’s timeline. Something like end of November would be the bicam and then 2nd week [of December] would be the signing. But if it’s possible to stretch this out, since we have Dec. 18 as congressional break, so if this is finished by December 5, we have 10 days or 6 session days for other bills,” he added.
Also, Cayetano said the House’s small group, which accepted individual amendments to the GAB, will meet on Tuesday to decide whether to have a bigger budget group to help the Committee on Appropriations for the bicam.
Earlier, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez said the House will work double time to approve on plenary the remaining priority measures, including the pending joint resolution that authorizes the use of the rice subsidy, as provided in this year’s P3.757-trillion national budget, for the purchase of palay (unhusked rice) from farmers.
Romualdez said other economic bills that needed swift action from the House include Real Property Valuation Reform Bill, amendments to the Public Service Act, a measure raising the Motor Vehicle Road User’s Tax, as well as the proposals to create a Department of Water, Department of Filipino Overseas (DFO) and Department of Disaster Resilience (DDR).