Palace: Vetoed ‘insertions’ in 2019 budget ‘unconstitutional’
Credit to Author: The Manila Times| Date: Tue, 16 Apr 2019 10:57:52 +0000
MALACAÑANG on Tuesday justified President Rodrigo Duterte’s veto of the P95.3-billion worth of programs and projects in the 2019 national budget, saying the provisions were “unconstitutional.”
Speaking to reporters, Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo said that the vetoed provisions were “insertions” which were not part of the programs of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“Those are the so-called insertions, riders. They are not part of the program by the DPWH. Hence, it violates the Constitution,” Panelo said during a press briefing.
Duterte signed the much-delayed General Appropriations Bill into law on April 15, but vetoed P95.3 billion worth of items.
It ended the months-long delay, which forced the government to operate based on the 2018 budget resulting in delayed projects that impacted growth targets.
Panelo, who is also Duterte’s chief legal counsel, further said the vetoed items in the budget were “unprogrammed.”
“Remember the decision of the Supreme Court? The decision of the Supreme Court was that if they are unprogrammed, then, it violates the Constitution,” the Palace official said.
“As I have said in my statement, those vetoed provisions are in violation of the Constitution or it is against certain statutes. That was also the statement made by the President,” he added.
When asked if the vetoed items were “pork,” Panelo said, “They are in violation of Constitution, whether you call it pork or beef or meat or fish. Those provisions are violative of the basic charter.”
“The message is always you follow the Constitution. Any deviation from the Constitution will not be approved by the President or will not be tolerated,” he said.
Panelo said the vetoed items included the P75 billion worth of programs and projects under the DPWH itemized by the House of Representatives after Congress ratified the bicameral conference committee report.
He neither confirmed nor denied if the remaining P20 billion in the vetoed amount included insertions made by the Senate.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said previously that Senate finance committee chairman Loren Legarda may have inserted P23 to P25 billion to fund certain projects for Antique province.
Malacañang has yet to release the President’s veto message, which explains why he rejected a number of provisions.
House Appropriations Committee chairman Rolando Andaya Jr., who first introduced the insertions in December 2018, said he would wait for the veto message to be released.
He added the President may have placed the vetoed amount under “conditional implementation” or may have set requisites for the appropriations to be released.
Panelo, however, said the rejection was final and not conditional.
In his statement on Monday, Panelo said Duterte subjected certain provisions of the budget to “conditional implementation” in accordance with existing laws, rules and regulations.
“The President likewise subjected certain provisions to conditional implementation in order to ensure conformity with existing laws, rules and regulations, such as the allowance and benefits of teachers and creation of teaching positions, construction of evacuation centers, funding for foreign-assisted projects, revolving fund, and lump-sum appropriations for capital outlays, as well as financial assistance to local government units and funding requirements of our foreign service, among others,” he said.
“True to his commitment and constitutional duty to be fealty to the constitutional directives, the President vetoed items of appropriation that are either considered by law and jurisprudence as rider provisions not being related to a particular appropriation or they seek to amend the Constitution and certain statutes,” Panelo said. CATHERINE S. VALENTE
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