Duterte warns Senate on cutting agencies’ budget

MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte on Tuesday dared senators to slash the budget of government agencies, but warned he has the power to withhold funds from them, too.

“You threaten the budget of the different agencies of the executive because the officials refuse to attend to your hearings,” Duterte said in a taped public address.

“Reduce it by one-third, I challenge you. Don’t threaten me. Do it. Reduce the budget of the Office of the President to zero. Why? Will your funds reach you without passing through me? What if I don’t release? Tit for tat,” Duterte said.

Duterte has issued an order for Cabinet officials not to attend the Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigation on alleged misuse of pandemic funds.

The senators, however, have so far not made any threats to cut the agencies’ appropriations for next year.

The Senate has yet to approve its version of the P5.024-trillion budget for 2022.

The House of Representatives, on the other hand, has approved the bill on final reading.

The President continued to deny there was overpricing in the procurement of pandemic supplies as he hit the Senate’s marathon hearings which he claimed are being done “in aid of election.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III, on the other hand, said the President was given wrong information that the Senate was trying to hostage the proposed national budget for 2022.

“There is nothing like that in the Senate’s agenda. Cabinet members usually attend to explain their budgets. The President is being given a wrong impression by some people,” Sotto said in a Viber message to reporters.

Meanwhile, presidential spokesman Harry Roque yesterday said he doesn’t think Congress, the Senate in particular, would allow a reenacted budget for 2022, an election year.

“I don’t think so. Let’s talk about brass politics. It’s not to the welfare of reelectionist congressmen and senators to have a (reenacted) budget,” Roque said at the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum.

“Let’s face it. They have personal stakes in that budget and they will have to pass it because they need all the resources that they can get for the elections. And I want you to read between the lines,” he said. – Cecille Suerte Felipe, Richmond Mercurio