The Senate asked Malacañang on Wednesday to submit as soon as possible the proposed 2010 General Appropriations Act (GAA) or national budget to avoid the occurrence of a lack of quorum during budget deliberations as preparations for the May 2010 national and local elections are already underway.

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he wanted the early submission by the Executive branch of the proposed national budget so that the Senate could undertake parallel budget deliberations to hasten its approval.

Based on the Constitution, Malacañang has to submit the GAA within 30 days after the opening of Congress, which is usually associated with the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) by the President.

While former Presidents Aquino, Ramos, and Estrada had submitted the proposed national just after their SoNAs, the Arroyo administration has the habit of maximizing the 30-day deadline.

Zubiri said the Upper House wanted the sub-committees of the mother finance committee chaired by Sen. Edgardo J. Angara to begin parallel deliberations next month and finalize their recommendations to the mother finance committee by October.

He said he wanted the proposed 2010 GAA as sponsored by the Angara mother committee approved in November or just before the November 30 deadline for the filing of certificates of candidacy by national elections.

After this date, the Senate would have a hard time having quorums in their committee hearings or other legislative duties as national candidates would be moving around or going to key urban centers or provinces, he explained.