Sherwin: Recall of House budget bill unnecessary

MANILA, Philippines —  Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian yesterday rejected calls from the Makabayan bloc in the House of Representatives to recall the chamber’s budget bill for 2027, saying that the Senate would make the necessary corrections to ensure constitutional compliance without risking a reenacted budget.

House Deputy Minority Leader Antonio Tinio and his Makabayan colleagues recently urged Congress to pull the House-approved version of the 2027 budget from the Senate, arguing that it contains provisions that mirror elements struck down by the Supreme Court, including questionable triggers for unprogrammed appropriations and prohibited lump-sum allocations.

“I think it’s important and necessary so that the House can clean up its own mess, because if you look at the budget passed by the House, there are significant parts that could be declared unconstitutional as well,” Tinio explained. “We don’t want yet another budget that will be declared unconstitutional.”

However, Gatchalian dismissed the necessity of recall, explaining that the Senate is already positioned to correct these flaws during its consolidation and committee report process.

“Not necessary because we are entering the consolidation of the budget here so we can do the correction ourselves,” Gatchalian told reporters.

“Rest assured, the 2027 budget will be compliant with [the] Constitution,” Gatchalian said, adding that the 2027 budget would not mirror the unconstitutional provisions flagged by the high court in the 2024 and 2025 budgets.

Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson warned that returning the budget bill to the House would likely result in a reenacted budget – a scenario that he described as “worse” because it operates on lump sums without itemized provisions.

“That is not the solution. The solution is for the Senate to really scrutinize and cut all the fat sent in the GAB [General Appropriations Bill] of the House. That is the solution,” Lacson said.

He suggested Makabayan bloc lawmakers should instead raise their concerns with their House colleagues who would eventually sit in the bicameral conference committee.

Senate budget cut

In a bid to set an example for fiscal discipline, Lacson revealed that the Senate plans to slash its own proposed budget by P2 billion.

“In fact, we agreed with the Senate President the other day, me being the chairman of the committee on accounts, we will reduce our budget, the Senate budget, by about P2 billion from the NEP [National Expenditure Program],” Lacson disclosed.

He pointed out the contrast between the two chambers, noting that while the House added P5 billion to its own allocation, the Senate is taking the opposite route.

Lacson gave assurance that the P2-billion cut – which will bring the Senate’s budget down to P5 billion from the proposed P7 billion – will not disrupt the chamber’s operations, as there are still unused funds available.

Gatchalian said the Senate is also addressing red flags in the House version, particularly concerning infrastructure insertions, with some farm-to-market road projects proposed by the House having been plotted in the middle of the ocean.

“There are coordinates there that is in the Benham Rise or in the Middle East. So we have to check. I’m sure it’s a typo,” Gatchalian said.

The Senate President added they have already flagged the Department of Agriculture regarding these errors and duplicate project entries.

Lacson noted that the Senate’s decision to invite civil society organizations as resource persons during the budget hearings has been instrumental in exposing these anomalies. – Delon Porcalla