MANILA — Lawmakers at the House of Representatives are working overtime, even extending plenary sessions until Friday, to ensure the timely passage of the proposed PHP3.757-trillion 2019 national budget.
In a statement on Thursday, majority leader Rolando Andaya Jr. described the first day of budget deliberations on the floor as “long but productive” lasting around 18 hours “non-stop.”
The House started the first day of the plenary debates on the national budget on Wednesday, 10 a.m. and finished at almost 4 a.m., Thursday.
“This kind of marathon session is usually reserved for the last day. But the Speaker (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) wanted all interpellations on agencies scheduled for the day to be finished regardless of time,” Andaya said.
Andaya said the lower chamber was able to tackle the budgets of agencies receiving the biggest allocations, such as the Department of Education (DepEd).
“Kahapon, hindi maliliit na ahensya ang tinapos (Yesterday, it’s not the minor agencies have been tackled), but the biggest in the bureaucracy–DepEd an agencies, with big allocations like DSWD (Department of Social Welfare and Development),” he said.
Also tackled were the budgets of the Department of Agrarian Reform, Department of Trade and Industry, National Economic and Development Authority, the Ombudsman, many executive offices, and more than a hundred state universities and colleges, he noted.
He also assured that the debates were “never curtailed, nor abbreviated.”
Meanwhile, House appropriations committee chairman Karlo Nograles expects more exhaustive discussions and debates on the budget, as the House is now required to scrutinize the National Expenditure Program (NEP) submitted by the Executive Department.
“Dito na po papasok yung role ng Congress na ano ba talaga yung mabuti para sa taong bayan (This is where the role of Congress comes in–to determine what would be good for the people),” Nograles said.
“Dun na po magkakaroon ng adjustments sa NEP; magiging general appropriations bill yan kasi ang Kongreso na po (There will be adjustments made in the NEP; it will become the general appropriations bill because Congress), as the majority, will decide where to put the money and what items will be funded,” he added.
Nograles said debates about the budget were a part of the process that would allow legislators to propose amendments to the budget so that funding can be made available for agencies they believe require it.
Based on the House schedule, the plenary debates would last until Sept. 27. The General Appropriations Bill is expected to be passed on third and final reading by October 12 before the month-long congressional break. (Filane Mikee Cervantes/PNA)
