House approves P3.8-trillion budget for 2019

MANILA, Philippines — The House of Representatives approved the proposed P3.8-trillion national budget for 2019 on third and final reading yesterday.

Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. told reporters the passage of the outlay was “in response to the request of the Senate president (Vicente Sotto III) that we approve it early this week.”

“The previous Nov. 28 approval deadline was the worst-case scenario. Approval today of the budget for next year means that this year’s outlay will not be reenacted,” he said.

As finally approved, Andaya, who was budget secretary when Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was president, said next year’s budget contains many amendments.

“We had to accommodate last-minute funding requests from several agencies and President Duterte himself. These are the things the President sees whenever he goes around in the provinces – things that need to be funded,” he said.

He said the presidential requests included P2 billion for military housing, which was added to funds for the National Housing Authority.

“Our problem was sourcing the needed money. If you add something, you have to take that away from other appropriations because we cannot increase the total budget proposed by the President,” he added.

Andaya pointed out that programs and projects both the House and the Senate intend to fund would be discussed when the two chambers reconcile their versions of the 2019 budget.

“We share common interests. For instance, we want to allocate more funds for health and education. We want to give money for capital expenditures to state universities and colleges, which have zero capital outlay in the budget proposal submitted by DBM (Department of Budget and Management). We have to make further adjustments in the budget for those changes,” he stressed.

He said the two chambers would also have to allocate about P2 billion for the holding of a plebiscite for the ratification of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

“There are no funds in the DBM proposal for that,” he said.

Asked about the statement of Sen. Panfilo Lacson that the House was making many pork barrel insertions in the 2019 budget, Andaya said, “What we are introducing are amendments, not insertions.”

“All changes will be itemized as much as possible and will be compliant with the Supreme Court decision outlawing pork barrel funds,” he said.

The ruling, he pointed out, does not prohibit House members and senators from making changes in the budget while they are considering the outlay.

He added that the House would shortly transmit the approved budget to the Senate after printing a clean copy.

Earlier, senators expressed fears about the possible reenactment of the 2018 outlay if they run out of time to pass the 2019 spending bill.