PR
House Majority Leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez on Sunday appealed to his colleagues to only speak on their allotted time and ask relevant questions during budget floor debates to ensure the swift passage of the proposed 2020 P4.1 trillion national expenditure program (NEP).
Romualdez, who chairs the House Committee on Rules, made his appeal as the House of Representatives begins this Tuesday its two-week marathon hearings to approve House Bill (HB) No. 4228 or the Fiscal Year 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
The House leader said he is “banking on the professionalism and discipline of his colleagues who will not do any showing off at the expense of the proposed national budget.
“The House leadership under Speaker (Alan Peter) Cayetano is appealing once again to our colleagues to help us approve the national spending measure immediately,” said Romualdez, adding he expects many of his colleagues to attend the sessions devoted to the national budget.
“Our national budget for next year will give a very strong foundation to ensure the successful implementation of President Duterte’s programs with sustainable and equitable growth that would provide a comfortable life for Filipinos,” said Romualdez.
He said the House of Representatives will work overtime with the daunting task of passing the proposed 2020 national budget.
The House leader also confirmed that the same GAB based on NEP was referred again last Wednesday to the House Committee on Appropriations and without insertions.
“We will work overtime to finish the budget deliberations. We are on track to meet the target deadline,” said Romualdez on the budget floor debates that would start at 1 p.m. from Tuesday to Friday this week and Monday to Friday next week.
“It was the same and original GAB based on NEP that was sent again to the Appropriations Panel,” said Romualdez.
Earlier, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, who chairs the House Committee on Appropriations, bared that Cayetano’s leadership will pass the 2020 national budget before the first congressional break starting on October 5 after convening its first regular session in July.
After the two-week floor debates, the House of Representatives will use the following week to print the third and final reading copy of the proposed national budget before adjourning on October 4.
This Tuesday, Ungab will sponsor and defend the proposed 2020 national budget where the opening debates would focus on the general principles and
macro assumptions on which the NEP was based, the fiscal performance of the government and the state and future
directions of the economy.
Also to be discussed this Tuesday are the budgets of the Department of Finance (DoF), National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA)
and their attached agencies, Legislative-Executive Development Advisory Council
(LEDAC), and other Executive Offices such as the National Intelligence Coordinating Council (NICA), and the National Security Council (NSC).
Romualdez reiterated that the proposed 2020 national budget would be “pork-less” and would no longer contain lump sums, except for certain appropriations like the calamity and the contingency funds.
“We are committed to pass a constitutionally compliant national budget. The House leadership will comply with the Supreme Court decisions that outlawed the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP),” said Romualdez.
“Definitely, the pork barrel system is a thing of the past. Line item budgeting system will be strictly observed to ensure transparency and accountability in the disbursement of public funds. We also commend the President’s commitment through acting Budget Sec. [Wendel] Avisado to ensure an equitable and corruption-free distribution of government resources to further propel the economy,” said Romualdez.
