Manila Bulletin
House leader says 2020 national budget withdrawn because it was prematurely filed for 1st reading
House leader says 2020 national budget withdrawn because it was prematurely filed for 1st reading
House leader says 2020 national budget withdrawn because it was prematurely filed for 1st reading
By CJ Juntereal
Published Sep 1, 2019 06:33 pm
By Charissa Luci-Atienza
Deputy Speaker and Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte justified on Sunday the withdrawal of the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) last week, explaining that there was a “premature” filing of the budget bill on first reading.
House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
He said all departments and other agencies of the government have yet to finish presenting their respective budget proposals at that time.
“The bill”s withdrawal was not an issue. It was just a procedural mater as the presentation of the budget proposals of all government offices before the House appropriations committee have yet to be completed at the time of HB 4228’s filing on first reading,” he told the Manila Bulletin after Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, bared that it was Villafuerte who withdrew the spending bill set for first reading last August 28.
“In fact, the remaining offices that have yet to present their 2020 budget proposals are expected to finish doing so by the end of this workweek yet—so how can the House appropriations committee submit HB 4228 without having heard the presentations of all government agencies covered by the proposed 2020 GAA (General Appropriations Act)?," he asked.
He allayed concerns that the withdrawal of the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) might be a prelude to possible congressional insertions.
“There are no congressional insertions whatsoever in this process because the allocation of specific outlays for agencies, programs and projects in the GAB are part and parcel of the House’s responsibility to draw up a national budget as it deems fit for a specific fiscal year based on the absorptive capacities of government officers," Villafuerte said.
“There is no approved GAB yet, so there is no such thing as congressional insertions at this stage,” he pointed out.
The House leader also stressed that that it is the job of the Lower Chamber to allocate or amend budgetary items of the different offices and different programs and projects based on the absorptive capacities of government agencies as provided for by the 1987 Constitution.
According to Villafuerte, legislators may introduce new expenditure items during the budget authorization or deliberation process, but on condition that such items do not increase the size of the budget as originally submitted by the President to the Congress.
“Certainly, the premature filing of HB 4228 goes against the very commitment of the House leadership to tackle the 2020 GAB—and all other legislative measures for that matter—in timely fashion and with full transparency from the committee to the plenary stages?” he stressed.
“Besides, we have the whole of September and most of October to take up the national budget bill, so there is no need for us to act on it with undue haste.”
The House leader said they intend to pass the spending bill before the 18th Congress takes its first recess by end-October, so the Senate would have enough time to pass its version of this bill in December before the traditional Christmas break.
"There is no need for us to short-circuit the legislative process on the excuse that the House should pass the GAB soon enough to avoid a repeat of the 2019 budget delay," he said.
Villafuerte explained that he moved on the floor to have the budget bill withdrawn and returned to the House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab, upon learning that Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano was made co-author of HB 4228, without the latter's knowledge.
He said he asked the Speaker if he knew about such development, to which the latter told him he wasn’t aware that he was included as one of the bill’s authors.
“We have seen how the four-month-and-a-half delay in the passage of the 2019 has stunted GDP growth in the year’s first and second quarters. The House leadership will not let that sorry episode in the 17th Congress happen again this time around. We owe it to our people to pass in timely fashion a 2020 budget plan that is pork-free and supportive of President Duterte’s agenda to keep the PHL economy on its high—and inclusive—growth path,” Villafuerte said.
“The House leadership under Speaker Cayetano is fully committed to having the 2020 GAB acted upon in a timely manner and for all committee and plenary deliberations on this bill fully transparent and in keeping with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling against so-called pork barrel funds for legislators,” he said, “but this legislative process must not be done with undue haste or making a mockery of the House’s constitutional power of the purse.”
READ MORE: Proposed 2020 budget ordered withdrawn before it could be tackled on first reading
House of the Representatives (ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN / FILE PHOTO)
He said all departments and other agencies of the government have yet to finish presenting their respective budget proposals at that time.
“The bill”s withdrawal was not an issue. It was just a procedural mater as the presentation of the budget proposals of all government offices before the House appropriations committee have yet to be completed at the time of HB 4228’s filing on first reading,” he told the Manila Bulletin after Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, bared that it was Villafuerte who withdrew the spending bill set for first reading last August 28.
“In fact, the remaining offices that have yet to present their 2020 budget proposals are expected to finish doing so by the end of this workweek yet—so how can the House appropriations committee submit HB 4228 without having heard the presentations of all government agencies covered by the proposed 2020 GAA (General Appropriations Act)?," he asked.
He allayed concerns that the withdrawal of the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) might be a prelude to possible congressional insertions.
“There are no congressional insertions whatsoever in this process because the allocation of specific outlays for agencies, programs and projects in the GAB are part and parcel of the House’s responsibility to draw up a national budget as it deems fit for a specific fiscal year based on the absorptive capacities of government officers," Villafuerte said.
“There is no approved GAB yet, so there is no such thing as congressional insertions at this stage,” he pointed out.
The House leader also stressed that that it is the job of the Lower Chamber to allocate or amend budgetary items of the different offices and different programs and projects based on the absorptive capacities of government agencies as provided for by the 1987 Constitution.
According to Villafuerte, legislators may introduce new expenditure items during the budget authorization or deliberation process, but on condition that such items do not increase the size of the budget as originally submitted by the President to the Congress.
“Certainly, the premature filing of HB 4228 goes against the very commitment of the House leadership to tackle the 2020 GAB—and all other legislative measures for that matter—in timely fashion and with full transparency from the committee to the plenary stages?” he stressed.
“Besides, we have the whole of September and most of October to take up the national budget bill, so there is no need for us to act on it with undue haste.”
The House leader said they intend to pass the spending bill before the 18th Congress takes its first recess by end-October, so the Senate would have enough time to pass its version of this bill in December before the traditional Christmas break.
"There is no need for us to short-circuit the legislative process on the excuse that the House should pass the GAB soon enough to avoid a repeat of the 2019 budget delay," he said.
Villafuerte explained that he moved on the floor to have the budget bill withdrawn and returned to the House Committee on Appropriations, chaired by Davao Rep. Isidro Ungab, upon learning that Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano was made co-author of HB 4228, without the latter's knowledge.
He said he asked the Speaker if he knew about such development, to which the latter told him he wasn’t aware that he was included as one of the bill’s authors.
“We have seen how the four-month-and-a-half delay in the passage of the 2019 has stunted GDP growth in the year’s first and second quarters. The House leadership will not let that sorry episode in the 17th Congress happen again this time around. We owe it to our people to pass in timely fashion a 2020 budget plan that is pork-free and supportive of President Duterte’s agenda to keep the PHL economy on its high—and inclusive—growth path,” Villafuerte said.
“The House leadership under Speaker Cayetano is fully committed to having the 2020 GAB acted upon in a timely manner and for all committee and plenary deliberations on this bill fully transparent and in keeping with the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling against so-called pork barrel funds for legislators,” he said, “but this legislative process must not be done with undue haste or making a mockery of the House’s constitutional power of the purse.”
READ MORE: Proposed 2020 budget ordered withdrawn before it could be tackled on first reading