Congress leaders to meet anew in a bid to end budget impasse
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Thu, 21 Mar 2019 04:04:28 +0000
CONGRESS leaders agreed on Thursday to meet anew to break the impasse on the passage of the 2019 budget.
This developed after the controversial budget measure that the Senate leadership refused to sign and transmit to Malacañang was withdrawn by the House of Representatives.
Senate President Vicente Sotto 3rd said the “budget books” were physically withdrawn from the Senate on Wednesday evening by a House team tasked by House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to make the retrieval.
Sotto described the House retrieval of the budget measure as a move that would finally break the dragging impasse.
“I welcome the retrieval, I could have sent it back for being unfaithful to what was approved by the bicam and ratified in plenary but I did not as prudence dictates,” Sotto said.
With the latest development, Sotto said he assigned Senate finance committee chairman Loren Legarda, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Gregorio Honasan to meet again with House leaders.
Legarda said the meeting with their House counterparts will be on Monday, March 25.
“We hope to meet on Monday and resolve the issue once and for all so the country can move forward,” she said. JAVIER JOE ISMAEL
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