Malacañang said yesterday President Duterte is reviewing the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 and assured the public that the Chief Executive will veto any provisions of the public spending measure that will be unconstitutional.
Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Duterte is going over the bicameral conference committee report on the national budget to make sure that it is constitutional.
“‘Pag merong isang batas o panukala sa kanyang lamesa, ito ay sasangayunan at pipirmahan niya kung ito ay naaayon sa Saligang Batas, at ano man ang provision na labag dito ay kanyang ibi-veto. ‘Yun ang palagi niyang sinasabi,” he said.
The ratification of the bicameral conference committee report by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the national budget had been opposed by Sen. Ping Lacson who once again found it riddled with “pork” insertions amounting to P83 billion.
Lacson lamented that “pork is here to stay” but he is hoping that Duterte would again exercise his political will in vetoing line items that will waste people’s tax money.
Duterte had expressed hope that Congress would not allow another the delay in the passage of the budget because it adversely affects the administration’s economic program and delivery of services to the public. “We hope to pass the law hopefully by December sana kung maaari. Congress, paki naman,” he said.
Duterte certified as urgent the proposed 2020 national budget last September to avoid a repeat of a reenacted budget that wreaked havoc on the economic program of the administration, affected the timely delivery of basic services to the people, and slowed the country’s growth during the first quarter of 2019. (Argyll Geducos)