Senate to Closely Scrutinize Proposed 2019 Budget

Senate President Vicente Sotto on Tuesday assured that the Senate would closely scrutinize any amendments that the House of Representatives would make in the proposed 2019 National Expenditure Program (NEP) before it would be approved into law.

In an ambush interview, Sotto said as far as the Senate is concerned, “nothing is written in stone,” especially in very important pieces of legislation like the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

“Before it becomes the General Appropriations Act (GAA) which is the law already, we will scrutinize it the way the Senate scrutinizes it,” he said.

The Senate leader stressed that whatever the House amends in the GAB, whether a decrease or an increase in allocation, would be carefully studied by the Senate.

“Hindi naman kami pwedeng magpasa lang kung ano yung dumaan sa amin dito lalo na pagdating sa budget (We cannot just pass everything that is transmitted to us especially when it comes to the budget), because the budget is the single most important piece of legislation that Congress has to pass,” Sotto said.

The Senate President issued the statements amid reports that plenary deliberations on the proposed PHP3.757-trillion National Expenditure Program submitted by Malacañang were stalled, allegedly over the inclusion of some PHP55 billion in “insertions.”

Sotto’s statements were backed by his colleagues, saying they will scrutinize the GAB for any “pork barrel” insertions.

Senator Panfilo Lacson said careful scrutiny is needed, especially since the Senate was able to identify billions of pesos of supposed pork barrel funds in the past.

“Oo, nagawa namin ito noong 2016. May PHP8.3 billion na na-identify (Yes, we were able to do it in 2016. We identified PHP 8.3 billion as pork),” he said in a radio interview.

“Actually nasuportahan ng kasamahan ko sa Senado, ilagay ito sa free tuition. Kaya wala pa ang batas sa free tuition, nagkaroon ng pondo na PHP8 billion (My colleagues supported the proposal to allocate it to free tuition. That’s why even if the law on free tuition has not yet been passed then, there is already a PHP8-billion fund),” Lacson said.

He added that another PHP86 billion in pork barrel funds were identified in the 2017 budget lumped as a single allocation for right road right of way (RROW) settlement under the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

As for the reported PHP55-billion pork barrel in the 2019 budget, Lacson said the funds were allocated to the Department of Education and the Department of Transportation for projects that were allegedly identified by congressmen.

“Kung kani-kanino man, yan ang hahanapin natin ngayon. Pero pork pa rin yan (We will look for them whoever’s projects they are. It’s still pork),” Lacson said.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority leader Franklin Drilon warned that he will oppose the passage of the GAB itself if the insertions are retained.

“I will oppose the passage of the budget and filibuster, if needed, if these pork barrel allocations/insertions remain,” Drilon said in a text message to Senate reporters.

Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto, on the other hand, expressed optimism that Congress would be able to pass the GAB on time despite the reported bickering in the House and the Senate’s careful scrutiny.

“We will wait for the House to pass their version of the budget. I expect the budget to be passed on time by December,” Recto said in a separate text message. (PNA)