Senate ratifies P3.757-T nat’l budget
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Fri, 08 Feb 2019 12:26:27 +0000
Voting 15-5, the Senate ratified on Friday night the P3.757-trillion proposed national budget for this year.
Despite controversies on the insertion of “pork barrel” funds, the Legislative branch decided to finish the budget deliberations and ratified the bicameral conference committee report before going on a break ahead of the May 13 midterm elections, thus, dismissing possibilities of a reenacted 2018 budget.
Congress was scheduled to adjourn Feb. 8 and would resume on May 20 after the polls.
Amid the issues, the Senate resorted to nominal voting to ratify the GAB.
Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Sen. Risa Hontiveros, Sen. Bam Aquino, and Sen. Francis Pangilinan opposed the ratification of the GAB, as they believe that the 2019 budget contained so-called pork allocations.
Lacson and Drilon took exception and denied the claims of House Appropriations panel chairperson Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. that each senator would get P3 billion in government programs from the alleged budget insertions.
Despite statements from her fellow senators, Legarda has denied the presence of pork barrel funds in the annual budget, maintaining their amendments were institutional in nature and were made to fund requesting government agencies and programs.
The budget bill will be sent to Malacañang for President Duterte’s signature now that it has been ratified by the two houses of Congress. (Vanne Elaine P. Terrazola)