Diokno confident Congress will approve 2019 budget by end-January
MANILA, Philippines — Budget Secretary Bejamin Diokno said Wednesday he is confident that Congress will pass the proposed 2019 national budget before January ends, citing the proximity of elections.
Lawmakers went on their Christmas vacation last month without passing the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for this year, forcing the national government to run using a re-enacted budget beginning January.
Under a re-enacted budget, new programs and projects proposed for 2019 will be unfunded since the previous outlay will be reused this year.
At a press conference, Diokno said lawmakers will likely hasten the passage of the new outlay so they can have more time once the official campaign period — which will run from February 12 to May 11 — kicks off.
Twelve of the 24 Senate seats, as well as all lower house seats and all elected posts of local government units, are up for grabs on May 13, 2019.
“The budget will be approved by the end of the month and end up on the President’s desk by first week of February... Because there’s an election and they will go on recess by February 14 to 15. They will hit the road for their campaign by the middle of February,” the Budget chief said.
“Because if they don’t pass the budget, we’ll call them to a special session again and again and again. So that will take time away from their campaign,” he added. “That’s why I’m confident.”
Under the Constitution, the president may call a special session at any time.
But President Rodrigo Duterte last December decided not to ask Congress to hold a special session after lawmakers “requested a break” because the senators were “exhausted,” Diokno earlier said.
Meanwhile, concerns over “pork barrel insertions” stoked further scrutiny of the proposed outlay that could possibly delay its passage.
‘Delay a little bit’
In the same press briefing, Diokno lamented Senate’s decision to delete the P75-billion additional budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways, saying the move could reduce both the state’s investments in infrastructure and potential jobs that could be generated from the construction-boom.
“And that has an impact on employment, on poverty because if you don’t get jobs, of course you’ll be one of those who are poor. And then of course it will also delay a little bit — not too much — our commitment to make up for past neglect in infrastructure,” Diokno said.
“So I hope they know the short-term and long-term consequences of their moves. But aside from that we don’t comment on what they do with the budget under the stage of the budget process,” he added.
Diokno previously said the DBM initially approved P480 billion out of the P652-billion budget that the DPWH originally requested.
The budget for the DPWH was subsequently increased by P75.5 billion, for a total of P556 billion, to reach the state’s target to disburse at least 5 percent of gross domestic product for infrastructure, Diokno added.
The Budget chief had stressed the adjustments on the DPWH’s budget — which House lawmakers said was an anomalous “insertion” — are normal during budget preparation phase. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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