Since 1983
- . TUESDAY APRTL 2, 2019
Senate, House continue
bickering over budget
BY WENDELL VIGIUA
and RAY IOND AFRICA
SENATORS and congressmen are still
bickering ovet last minute changes made
in the proposed P3.757-ttillion national
budget for 2019 evcri if the measure
has been submitted to Malacaflang for
President Duterte's signature.
Rep. Rolando AndayaJr (?PD-Laban;
Camarines Sur), chat of the House
appropriations committee, took excep-
tion to the Senate's allegation that the
amendments intoduced by congressmen
in the bicametal conference committee
meetings will derail the implementation
of President Duterte's priofity pfogfams,
wwwmalaya.com.ph
I
particulady "Build, Build, Build" projects.
"It is the Senate that may find itself
liable to accusatioq of sabotage when
it decided, unilaterally, to cut down the
allocation for the President's Build,
Build. Build Ptogram aod other prioriry
projects," he said,
Andaya said details of the reductions
were oot fully discussed in the bicameral
conference meetings because "selatots
unilaterally decided oo the budget cuts
and realigned them to other items based
on request of individual ptoponents."
"Up to now, the Senate has yet to make
public a detailed report on the propo-
nents who recommended the individual
realignments," Andaya said.
\\ Aedsuti€
(1)
Senatc President Vicente Sotto III said
the accusation that the Senate introduced
budgct cuts to government proiects
is mcant to prevent President Duterte
ftom vetoing tealignments made by the
Lkrusc after the Genetal Appropriations
Bill (GAB) was tatified by the bicametal
confcrence committee on Februaty 8.
"lt! a last.diLch effort to obfirscatc
rhe issue and u) lo Prevent tlre Prcsi-
dent's veto of theit illegal tealignments.
Even their colleagues kno'* No excuses
necessary because the President knows
everphing," Sotto said.
Sotto signed the budget measure last
v'eek "with strong resetvauons." He
has left it to the President to rcvie'w
NeLlr,/
and veto the "unconstitutional" tealign
ments, iucluJing the P75 billion which is
part of a total of P95 billion worth of
realignments.
The measure is still being reviewed by
Prcsidcnt Dutertc.
Thc Scnatc lcarned of the rcalignments
to the GAB after at least 62 congtessmen
complained fiat budger appropriations f,'r I
dreir districts were slashed in favor oI con-
gressmen close to SpeaLet Gloria Artoyo.
The House has been saying no realigo
ments were made and congressmen only
itemized lunip sum appropriations.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson last week said the
See SENATE) Page83
Nx'r PAes PL'{' ' -2
. SENATE
implementation of the adminis-
tration's infrastructure progia.r]os
might be affected after ttre House
tealigned some P75 billioo in
Department of Public Work a.od
Highways (DPWF! tunds for the
Build program when coogressmeo
iremized lump-sum items e\Eo a1:-
er tle tatification of the bicameol
cooitreoce committee reporl
-\adaya said the House respecls
Se President's veto power "aad we.
are coovinced that he will exercise
such autloriw fot the beoe6t of
rle oation and of our people."
He said the House never made
a move to r:educe the 2019 budget
for infrastucture projects as ap-
propdated in the National Expen-
ditue Ptogram Q.iEP) and even
iotroduced amendments increasing
ttre budget for infrasttucture proi-
ects without breaching the total
aoount pegged by the NEP
'This would allow the Execu-
tive Departrnent to spur economic
grovrh duough increased public ex-
penditute. !7e made sute, however,
dat such amendments will pass the
test not only of constitutionality
ald legality but alsoof transparency
a.nd accountabiJity," he said.
Andaya expressed coo6deoce
dat the Of6ce of the President
sould also review the Senatet
amendments "and find ways oa
horr to restote tlem in the Presi
dert! seto message."
.SENATE
REALIGNMENTS'
The re'.eraa la*'rnaker identified
de tollcqiosiems as among those
takeo out of de 2019 GAB by the
Seoate P5 bdiion rbr right-of-way
projecs urder de Department of
Ttaosportadoo- P 11.033 billion
f61 tight-of-sar proiects, and P2.5
billioo foreiga-assisred plojects
under the DPNH-
Andaya said deprisiog &e gor-
ernment of fuo& fol righl,ot:s-ay
and other infrrsrructure projecs
"will surely hamper the imple-
meotation of rhe Presideot's Build,
Build, Build Prograrn."
"Consauctioo on ptiotiq proj-
ects, iocluding mass ttansit and
\ 4raputile /t/aLr,,
railway systems, will be mostly
affected," he said.
Andaya noted that P3 billion
for scholarship of rebel retuinees,
out-of-school youths and reha-
bi.litatiry &ug dependens errolled
under t}Ie Universal Access to Ter-
tiary Education was also removed
from dre budget of the Technical
Education and Skjlls Development
Authority ([ESDA) and as a rcsult,
at least 320,000 students enrolled
uoder the program will lose their
sctrolarship this year.
From the budget of dre Depart-
meot of Eovironment and Natual
Resources, P2.254 billion for Na-
tional Grceoing Program was a-red,
'lvhich tesulted in 50 percent budget
cut fol all PENROS (ftovincial En
vironment and Natural Resources
Of6cer) except Antique."
Andaya said the Department
of Foreign Affairs lost its P7.5
bilLion budget for the Southeast
Asian Games after P5 billion .vas
ttansfered to Philippine Sports
Commission "and P2.5 billion
nowhere to be fouad."
Andaya said the Miscellaneous
Personnel Beneft Fund, which is
one of thtee sources of money
paid to governmenr petson4el Jost
P t 3.4 bilhon $ hile P]9 b,llib.r r.a.
ul<en out of t}te Pension Gratuity
Fund which cosers the parment
for the follos-ing: pension of AFP
redrees; \r'aa or m .iary veterans
of the defense department; retired
uniforoed persomel of the DILG,
PC N?, N,\MRIA and Pbilippine
Coast Guard; and othet retirees of
t}re oational government.
It aiso indudes the budget for
rettement benefits for optional
retirees of the national govern,
meng retircd personnel of GOCCs
which are Gaaocially uaable to pay
the bene6s; personnel devolved to
local government r:nits (LGUs);
separation beoefits or incentives
of affected personnel pursuant to
the implementation of restructur-
ing of agencies affected by thi
htegration aad automation of the
Budget Treasurr and Management
System and the operationalization
of the Tteasurt Single Account;
arrd rightsiiing, merger, stream-
Iiaing, abolition or privatization,
monetization of leave credits of
G2)
national govetnment personnel
and transfetted leave credits of
those devolved to the LGUs.
INFIGHTING
Lacson said tie affected con-
gressmen were forced to squeal
about the post-bicam tealignments
because their coogressional dis-
tiicts were adversely affected by
the budget cuts.
'The infighting brought about
by the 'spoils fot the victors' actu-
ally exposed dee indiscretions of
t}te House leadership in whimsi-
cally realigning pork insertions
even aftet the ratification of the
bicam report. The continuing
batde for pork has not only made
the situation vrorse for them. It is
actually becoming ugliet " he said.
"On a positive note, this is good
for us and the Filipino taxpayers
since it could make it easier for
Malacaiang to discern when the
President exercises his Line item
veto authodty."
I-acson said he was the main pro,
ponent of most of the budget cuts
"which I did onlv upon the requests
or concurrence of the agelcies.'1
He said among dre 'lpork 'iderih-
6ed in the proposed budget were
the P75 bilJion part of the budget
of the DP$?H, another P20 billion
for the DPWH right of way proj-
ects, P16 billion of tle DILG in
the form of financial assisance to
loca.l govemment unis, and dre P23
billion realigned by some senators.
He said the budget slashed rvete
diveted to fund the Health En-
hancement Facilities Progtam,
activation of Philippine Armyh
1 1th Infantry Division, purchase of
medicines for the Vetenns Memo-
tial Medical Center "and other insti
tutional amendments and thetefore
should not be regarded as potk."
He, however, said he did not sign
the bicam teport because he knew
tlat the proposed budget was still
potkJaden.
"I was aware of the presence of
pork, thus my dissenting vote on
its rati6cation," he said.
The realignments were discov-
ered by the Senate's Legislative
Budget Reseatch ard Monitoring
Ofice.