Palace: No need to pressure Congress to pass 2019 budget
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Thursday said there is no need to pressure Congress to pass the proposed 2019 national budget, saying lawmakers will “surely” approve the new outlay which has been delayed for the first time in nine years.
Legislators 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, threatening an economy that needs state spending to fuel growth.
READ: Why a reenacted budget is not good news for the Philippines
At a press conference, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (Pampanga) has assured the Executive branch that the new budget is “almost passed.”
“Hindi na kailangan (It’s not necessary). I am sure they will be passing that naman. They are all concerned with the services, the infrastructures that will be affected,” Panelo said when asked whether the Palace will put pressure on lawmakers to pass the new budget.
The Palace had likewise declined to press the passage of the budget before the end of December, saying lawmakers had already gone on break and were tired.
On Wednesday, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said lawmakers will likely hasten the approval of the new outlay so those running in the 2019 midterm elections can have more time once the official campaign period — which will run from February 12 to May 11 — kicks off.
“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 because lawmakers “requested a break.” This was after Congress held a joint session where they discussed, and swiftly granted, Duterte’s request to have martial law in Mindanao extended for the third time.
Meanwhile, concerns over “pork barrel insertions” stoked further scrutiny of the proposed outlay that could possibly delay its passage.
The Senate is aiming to pass next week the proposed 2019 national budget. The bicameral conference committee –composed of delegates from the Senate and House of Representatives – when convened will reconcile the conflicting provisions of their respective versions of the budget bill. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral
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