The House of Representatives ratified last night the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2020 General Appropriations Act as it ignored accusations made by Sen. Panfilo Lacson that congressmen were responsible for the insertion of P16.345 billion to finance their respective pet infrastructure projects.
“We passed a budget with no pork, no parked funds, and no delays with full transparency,” declared House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano following the unanimous ratification of the proposed P4.1-trillion national appropriations that Congress approved way ahead of the original schedule.
Cayetano aired this guarantee in an apparent reaction to accusations aired by Lacson that the House contingent in the bicameral committee had surreptitiously inserted additional allocations for various provinces.
“While there is no perfect budget, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have identified areas where funds have been underutilized for various reasons,” the House leader stated.
He stressed that adjustments have been made in order that the funds “can now be fully utilized” for vital programs of the Duterte administration such as the “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure plan and social welfare projects.
“The early approval by the committee provides the President ample time to review the bill’s provisions and ensure that it is aligned with the priority programs of the administration. We now leave it up to the departments, agencies, and the rest of the Executive branch to fully implement the projects and programs with no corruption and with full transparency,” said Cayetano.
House Minority Leader and Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante said Lacson should have pointed out his complaints prior to the signing of the bicameral report yesterday.
“But he was not present yesterday to air his misgivings over the bicameral report,” noted Abante.
However, a senior opposition solon who requested anonymity said that based on previous experience, Lacson’s accusation is not unfounded.
He noted that the provinces named by Lacson as the recipients of the budget insertions have a history of “getting more funds” for their congressional district. (Ben Rosario)