Duterte calls special session on October 13-16

Budget bill certified as urgent

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte has called for a special session of Congress from Oct. 13 to 16 next week to get lawmakers to approve on time the 2021 national budget, which he also certified as urgent last night.

Through Proclamation No. 1027, Duterte ordered a special session of Congress “to resume the congressional deliberations on the proposed 2021 national budget and to avoid any further delays on the prompt passage thereof in accordance with the Constitution and applicable laws.”

Duterte signed the order a day after he expressed his frustration over the budget and leadership impasse at the House of Representatives.

“Either you resolve the issue on your impasse of the budget, legally or constitutionally, or I will do it for you,” Duterte said in a nationwide televised address Thursday night.

His message was issued amid Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano’s refusal to honor a term-sharing agreement with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.

In a Facebook post, Cayetano welcomed Duterte’s call for a special session, saying lawmakers “trust his wisdom on how to address issues concerning the budget.”

He also thanked the President “for his continued confidence by allowing Congress to pass the General Appropriations Bill free from the specter of politicking and intrigues that we had originally sought to avoid.”

“Congress shall continue to work and prepare for the swift passage of this measure, and to ensure that it will be responsive and relevant to the government’s overall recovery efforts for 2021,” he said.

This was in contrast to his earlier statement that he was standing pat on his position to suspend the session for over one month or until Nov. 16 and instead go through the budget process – including amendments – via small committee before approval on third and final reading.

Velasco, Cayetano’s rival for the speakership, also expressed support for the President’s call for a special session.

“This is what majority of us in the House of Representatives have been telling Speaker Cayetano and his small group of loyalists since the unceremonious termination of the budget plenary debates and the highly questionable and unconstitutional suspension of session,” he said in a statement.

Velasco stressed that Duterte’s call for special session was a marching order to Cayetano to reopen Congress to its members.

“The attendance of all lawmakers will enable them to meaningfully participate in the entire budget process and preparation, just like what the President wants, and not just a small committee of hand-picked friends,” he added.

Certified as urgent, the General Appropriations Bill may be passed by Congress on second and third readings on the same day, foregoing the required three-day window between the two votes.

Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said the Chief Executive decided to call for a special session to make sure the P4.5-trillion budget is enacted on time, so as not to compromise government funding for COVID-19 response.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said Duterte’s call for a special session was really directed at the House of Representatives, as Congress is not adjourning session but only suspending it.

“Technically, it’s the same thing. We are really set to have sessions till (October) 16 anyway,” Sotto said.

“So the order of the President puts emphasis on his call for the House of Representatives to approve the budget on third reading and give the Senate time to study, review and pass the GAA (General Appropriations Act),” he said.

Sen. Sonny Angara, who chairs the Senate finance committee in charge of deliberating on the proposed budget, said Duterte’s request would be a “great help” as it would facilitate the transmission of the document to the Senate.

Angara, however, said the success of the special session depends on the action of the House.

All Souls’ Day target

Earlier yesterday, Secretary to the Cabinet Karlo Alexei Nograles said President Duterte wanted the House of Representatives to resolve its leadership issue and resume session so it could have the 2021 budget measure approved on third and final reading before the All Souls’ Day congressional break.

“The long and short of it is, I think, I believe that the House of Representatives should convene and begin again budget deliberations and pass the budget before the break because remember, the Senate is in session and the House of Representatives has suspended session which is strange to the ordinary Filipino,” Nograles said in an interview with CNN Philippines.

“Why take a chance, when you can already pass the budget now, as prescribed by the legislative calendar?” he added.

A former lawmaker himself, Nograles said the President wanted to ensure the passage of the P45.5-trillion national outlay for 2021, which is why he felt the need to make public Thursday night his sentiments regarding political developments in the House of Representatives.

“How come the Upper House is continuously working and then the Lower House has suspended (session)? The long and short of it, there is an opportunity to pass the budget as promised and as calendared,” he said.

“I think that’s the message of the President, that it shouldn’t have happened because they should have stuck with the calendar,” Nograles pointed out.

He said it’s Cayetano’s move to abruptly suspend the session that has upset the lawmakers’ timetable for budget deliberations.

“And, in the budget calendar of the House of Representatives, before they go on break, they should have passed it already on third reading. There is no reason to go on a break without passing it on third reading,” he said.

Administration officials said the 2021 budget is critical to the Duterte administration’s economic stimulus package intended to spur the economy and address the needs of the people while the government continues to deal with the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The President’s message is very clear that there should be no delays in the budget because we are facing a pandemic, this COVID-19, so it’s very important to pass the budget on time because there’s a lot of fixing to do, not only with regard to our response against COVID-19 but also the problems in terms of poverty, hunger and jumpstarting the economy,” Nograles said in English and Filipino.

Developments at the Lower House are “intertwined and interconnected” and needed to be dealt with accordingly for the greater good of the Filipinos, he said.

“Remember the Senate is also working on a legislative calendar, and a budget calendar at that. That’s why you heard the senators’ reaction because everyone knows the budget calendar,” Nograles said.

Cascading effect

Nograles also warned of the “cascading effect” of the infighting in the House of Representatives, and this may have compelled the President to speak his mind out more forcefully.

“Because remember there will still be bicameral conference committee because the House and Senate versions are not the same, they are usually not the same. So there’s always going to be a bicameral conference committee to iron out the differences, and even that they have the prospective dates, and any slight delay in that would be, would have cascading effect,” he said.

Apology

Cayetano, earlier yesterday, apologized to President Duterte but stressed his camp was not derailing the budget deliberation.

“We take the President’s stern admonition to heart and we assure the public that we share his concern for the welfare of our people,” Cayetano said.

But the Speaker insisted that the budget could be enacted and signed before yearend despite pronouncements from senators that the period to be given for them to deliberate and pass the budget – following Cayetano’s calendar – might be too tight and not enough to ensure the passage of the 2021 budget measure.

“As a matter of detail, we will submit the printed budget to the Senate on Nov. 5, allowing our senators to proceed with their hearings and preparing the way for the formal transmittal on Nov. 16, immediately after Congress votes and approves on third reading the 2021 General Appropriations Bill,” he said.

“In these trying times we seek to ease the burdens of our fellow Filipinos who are suffering from the pandemic. And it is with this in mind that we would like to assure the President and our fellow citizens that despite all the noise, the 2021 budget will be passed on time,” Cayetano stressed.

The Speaker also argued that his move to suspend session for over a month and form a small committee to amend the budget does not violate the Constitution and House rules.

“We assure the President that all the actions we have taken are legal, constitutional and in line with time-honored precedents in the House. Neither I nor the other members of Congress will sacrifice the budget in this time for political expediency,” he stressed.

Cayetano reiterated that he pushed for the suspension of session to rid the budget deliberations of “saboteurs” out to politicize the plenary discussions.

He argued that the House was better off with a small committee tasked to thresh out and finalize all amendments pushed by lawmakers.

“If we continue the budget hearing on the floor, it was already being politicized. There were saboteurs. There were people who have their own interests. The congressmen and the departments could no longer talk to each other. What we did is not a shortcut. It is a better way,” he pointed out in a Facebook Live post.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said Duterte was right about threatening to take matters into his own hands as the national budget for next year could end up as casualty of a long-drawn squabble among lawmakers.

“His option is to do whatever is necessary, even taking a ‘direct’ hand in resolving the speakership issue with the timely passage of the 2021 national budget as his only consideration,” Lacson said.

But he said a “few calls” to the leaders of the pro-administration political coalitions in the House “can simplify matters.”  – Paolo Romero