HOUSE Majority Leader Rolando G. Andaya Jr. on Monday led the filing of a petition before the Supreme Court seeking to compel the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to release the fourth tranche of salary increase for government workers amounting to at least P42.7 billion.
In a 28-page petition, the petitioners through their counsel, Atty. Walter Tan, specifically sought the issuance of a writ of mandamus with prayer for preliminary mandatory injunction to compel respondent Budget Secretary Benjamin E. Diokno to perform his ministerial duty to release the funds for the fourth tranche of increase and adjustments as provided under Executive Order 201 (Modifying the Salary Schedule for Civilian Government Personnel and Authorizing the Grant of Additional Benefits for Both Civilian and Military Uniformed Personnel) starting January 2019.
Joining the petition are employees from the Bureau of Immigration, Department of Justice (DOJ) and House of Representatives.
‘Never-ending ploy’
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Ray F. Villafuerte Jr., meanwhile, blasted what he described as the “never-ending ploy” by Andaya, a fellow Bicolano lawmaker, to abuse his position as chairman of the House rules committee by holding another “rump hearing” by the panel on trumped-up charges of irregularities against the DBM in an apparent ruse to further derail the already-delayed congressional approval of the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA), allegedly in tandem with the House minority bloc.
Villafuerte said this “illegal and immoral” move by Andaya to hold a follow-up hack job on Tuesday against the DBM and Diokno is yet another compelling reason for him to quit right away as majority floor leader, so he could no longer use his premier position to hold hostage the congressional passage of the proposed 2019 GAA, the delay of which, he said, puts at great risk the full and swift implementation this year of President Duterte’s growth and development agenda.
“This is a bizarre situation in which the House majority leader has for the first time ever orchestrated a demolition job on the DBM and on Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who is an alter ego of the President, in tandem with the House minority bloc,” Villafuerte said. “This has unmasked his role as a sleeper agent of the political opposition out to destabilize the Duterte administration ahead of May’s midterm elections by sabotaging the President’s GAA that is designed to flesh out his priority programs and projects this year.”
“Should Rep. Andaya go ahead with his follow-up rump inquiry tomorrow [January 15] in collaboration with the House minority,” Villafuerte said, “he would be doing so against the wishes of a majority of our peers in the ruling coalition who want a speedy congressional approval of the 2019 GAA in support of President Duterte’s vision for high and inclusive growth.”
No basis
The petitioners added that there is no basis for the DBM to withhold the release of funds since there are available alternative sources for it despite the delay in the passage of the 2019 GAA or the reenactment of the 2018 budget.
They noted that the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF) with a total amount of P99.44 billion may be used to cover the salary adjustment for the fourth tranche.
“Only P42,705,911,000 is needed by the DBM to fund the fourth trance salary increase and adjustment for the year 2019, when it has a total amount of P99,446,295,000 in the MPBF,” the petitioners noted.
“The use of the MPBF is not merely a novel or theoretical idea crafted by herein petitioners. In fact, Section 46 of 2018 GAA allows the use of MPBF since the law instructs the Executive department that it may use funds appropriated for Personnel Services for the payment of personnel benefits,” they added.
Malacañang, for its part, made it clear that it not budging on the debate on the implementation of the salary hike as it welcomed Andaya’s petition to compel the DBM to release the fourth tranche of salary increase starting January 2019.
“We welcome it [the petition], so this can be resolved right away. He [Andaya] has his interpretation. We in the DBM have our interpretation,” Diokno told reporters in a briefing on Monday.
DBM Undersecretary Atty. Janet B. Abuel also pointed out that Diokno exercises no discretion on the release of funds for the implementation of the fourth tranche and that they are just acting according to the provisions under Executive Order 201, modifying the salary schedule for civilian government personnel and authorizing the grant of additional benefits for both civilian and military and uniformed personnel.