By Jose Cielito Reganit/PNA
MANILA – House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations chair Rolando Andaya Jr. on Wednesday urged the Senate to continue working with the House for the passage of the 2019 national budget amid the proposal of Senate President Vicente Sotto III to go for a reenacted budget due to allegations of pork barrel and fund insertions.
“I urge my Senate friends not to abandon the bicameral conference proceedings,” the Camarines Sur representative said in a message sent to the media.
Andaya, who heads the House panel in the bicam, added that while Sotto’s move is a matter “internal to the Senate”, the position of the House remains unchanged.
“We want a new budget. We are against a reenacted one,” he said.
Sotto earlier said he will propose to the bicam’s Senate panel to withdraw the Chamber’s version of the General Appropriations Bill and go for a reenacted budget amid numerous allegations being leveled by both the House and the Senate at the PHP 3.757-trillion 2019 budget.
“I hope that will erase all doubts and allegations of pork and other so-called insertions in the budget,” he added.
The bicameral conference committee meeting has somewhat stalled after the senators’ realignments in the proposed budget worth PHP190 billion were questioned.
Earlier, the Senate questioned some PHP51 billion in realignments proposed by the House of Representatives.
Meanwhile, Andaya pointed out that the House has already expressed its willingness to defend its own amendments in the national budget.
“Long before senators called for transparency, we have unilaterally announced that we are ready and willing to disclose and justify our amendments to the national budget,” he said.
Nevertheless, Andaya said despite the latest development, he “remains hopeful of a positive outcome.”
The government is currently operating under a reenacted 2018 budget after Congress failed to approve this year’s proposed expenditure program last December.
Lawmakers are hoping to pass the 2019 budget before it goes on recess on February 7 as the campaign period for the mid-term elections will also kick-off.
Congress will resume sessions on May 20.
