WE are in the second week of December and the Bicameral Conference Committee of Congress should be ready with the final form of the 2021 General Appropriations Bill by next week and place it before President Duterte for his signature so the national budget for 2021 will be ready for implementation right on the first day of the new year.
We hope this schedule will not be affected by the latest developments involving the investigation of charges against some congressmen allegedly involved in corruption. Twelve congressmen were named in a report prepared by the Presidential Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC).
The President sent the PACC list to the Task Force against Corruption (TEAC) and its investigators are meeting this week to start the gathering of information on the alleged involvement of public officials in public works projects, including their alleged receiving of funds from the favored contractors.
No names have been disclosed, which is as it should be. But the PACC list is said to include 12 congressmen who pushed for public works projects in the budget, then allegedly received certain amounts from private contractors. Commissioner Greco Belgica said he hopes the cases will be ready for filing in January.
The 12 congressmen must be leading members of the House if they were able to win House approval for their projects. Belgica said the task force is not exempting lawmakers allied with the President. If this case proceeds as hoped, it will be a great tribute to the President and his anti-corruption drive in government.
This case should not affect the final deliberations on the national budget. The President needs to have the bill on his desk next week. That will give him time to scrutinize it and possibly veto some undesirable provisions and sign it before the end of the year. This 2021 appropriation bill for P4.5 trillion includes funds badly needed for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, hence the urgent need for its immediate enactment and approval.
We thus have two interlocking issues – the corruption charges against 12 congressmen and the need for unhampered and immediate approval of the National Appropriation Bill for 2021. We hope to see them both resolved in a manner that that upholds our people’s highest respects for Congress and the Duterte administration
