Friday, Septemb er 2O, 2.
O19
House may approve
2020 budget bill todaY
BY JovEEMARTE N. DELACRUZ
, @jowemarie
+HE House of Representatives is
I targeting to apProve the Pro-
I posed 2020 P4.1'trillion General
Appropriations Act {GAA) on Friday
after President Duterte certified the
billas urgent.
House Committee on APProPria-
tionsChairman lsidrol Ungab saidthe
second and third reading approvalsare
' both possibleon Fridaywith the urgent
certification from the Palace
"The need to Pass the budget on
time is of immense importance in help-
ing boostthe economy.that is whywe
thank President Duterte for certifying
the budget as an urgent measure;'said
Ungab.
"Given the said certification, the
P4.l-trillion budget for 2020 may be
passed on the same daywithout wait-'
ing for separate days to have it aP-
proved on second and third readings.
Thus,lt is possible thatthe GAB [General
Appropriations Billlwill be passed thii
Friday. since it was already certified as
urgent,'he added'
After the aPproval in the House, the
2O2O nationalbudgetwill betransmitted
to the Senate for its own deliberations.
Majority Leader Martin G. Romual-
dez assured Filipino taxpayers that the
2O2O budget will be a "reflection not
only ofthe President's vision, but also
of the people's will."
"We, in Congress, suPPortthe initia-
tives of the Duterte administration to
empower the poor through increased
subsidies and grants aimed at ending
the lntergenerational cycle of poverty
in the country;'he added.
Deputy SPeakerRaneo Abu said the
timely passage of the 2020 national
budget is the House'5 commitment to
the President and the Public.
"Definitely, this will uplift the living
condition of poor Filipinos in all parts
of the country.This will also ensurethe
country's high and sustainable eco-
nomic arowth performance;' he said'
On Wednesday, Duterte cenified as
urgent the 2020 budget to ensure its
timelypassageand preventa repeatof the
delay in the passageofthe 2019 budget.
ln separate letters to Senate President
\loAC,-C - A.eY
Vicente Sotto lll and House Speaker
Alan Peter Cayetano, Duterte cited the
need to certifythe money measure as
urqent "in order to address the need
to maintain continuous government
operations following the end of the
current fiscal yearl'
The President also cited the need
to expeditethefunding of various pro-
grams, projectsand activities for 2020,
and to"ensurebudgetarypreparedness
that will enable the government to
effectively perform its Constitutional
mandate.'
Pork banel?
HOUSE Deputy Minority Leader and
Bayan Muna Rep. carlos lsagani Zarate
challenged lawmakers to get rid ofthe
"porkbarrel"system and havea national
budget that "genuinely and directly
goesto the servicesthat is needed by
their constituentsl'
"Bayan Muna and Makabayan bloc
representatives did not avail or partake
of any ofthe so-called P1o0-million al-
llrcatiqnper House member for item-
ized projectsto be included in the2020
national budqetl' Zarate said
"Even if it is argued that it is not
contrary to the 2013 Supreme Court
decision outlawing lump sum alloca-
tion and post-enactment intervention
of Congress members, this 2020 con-
gressional entitlement is still part of
the pervasive patronage system that
unfortunately marks our budget pro-
cess," he said.
Earlier, House Committee on WaYs
and Means Chairman JoeY Salceda
said P million was allocated to each
100
conqressman underthe proposed 2020
national budqet.
Ofthe P100 million, he said P70 mil-
lion-is allottqd for irfrFsJriugture proj-
'ecisl while P3o million is for medital
' and educational assisthnce.
Salceda said. however,thatthe P1 00
million is not pork barrelastheallocation
cannot be considered as a lumP sum.
Also, Albay ReP Edcel Lagman, cit-
ing a 5c decision' said pork barrel is a
congressional intervention after the
enactment of the GAA
ln 2013, the sc abolished and de-
clared the Priority Development As-
sistance Fund unconstltutlonal.