i Andaya says'no basis' for
Sotto's budget reservations
HOUSE appropriations commit-
tee chair and Camarines Sur 1"r
District Rep. Roland G. Ardava
Jr. said in a letter that Senaie
President Vicente C. Sotto III,S
reservations about tfie 2olg na-
tional budget have no legal basis,
Mr. Andaya said he wrote to
Executive Secretary Salvador C,
Medialdea and Department of
Budget and Management Act_
ing Secretary Janet B. Abuel in
separate letters on March 2g to
counter the Senate presidentt
argrrments for conditionally sign_
ingthe 2019 budSet bill.
"The Senate president is ill_
advised by his lawyers. The letter
he sent to the president express_
ing his 'strong reservations, as
arnotation in the 2Ol9 Natiodal
Budget enrolled bill has nolesal
basis. It is just a personal r"e_
quest, which the president may
or may not take heed of,,, Mr.
Andaya said in a statement on
Wednesday,
Mr. Sottq despite signing the
national budget on March 26,
noted his "reservations,, about
the post ratification realignments
made bythe House, amountingto
P95 billion.
He also asked presidellt Rodri-
go R Duterte to veto the p7s bil-
lion worth ofprograms under the
Local Infrastructure program of
t}le Department of public Works
and Highways.
Mr. Andaya added ,i{lsq I point_
ed out that t}le .Senate president
cannot interfere witfr tfie exercise
by President Duterte of his veto
power by suggesting what items
should be letoed in an enrolled bill,
&+rich bears his siArature.,'.
The appropriatiors commit-
tee chair noted in his letters that
tlere is uo 'tonditiotal signing of
an enrolled bill.,,
"The Senate cannot clothe his
signature to the 2OI9 General
Appropriations Bill with ambiva-
lence or dissent " said Mr. Aldava-
Ilutber, be said that the ar.gu_
Ents Eythe Senate president in
tus tetterare.tompletelybaseless."
"For one, the realignments
he cited were adjustments au_
tlorized by no less than the Bi_
cameral Corference Committee
Report, which was approved and
signed by the conferees from
both
chambers," said Mr. Andaya.
The budget, ratified on Feb. 8,
is awaiting president Rodrigo R.
Duterte's signature.
Sought for comment, Speaker
GIoria Macapagal-Arroyo said
that Malacaflang is expected to
sign the budget bill soon.
"I think it will sigred soon. Thev
are just, every year the president
does line item vetoes so thev are
just working on now I thinl on-what
wiU be tlrc line item veto but there is
a date for us to go to M
Ms. Arroyo.sad in a chance inter_
viewwitfr reporters on Wedlesdav
Asked to comment Mr. Sotto
told reporters over Viber: ..Ohni_
bus motions only apply to tfiell!
not tie entire Congress. palusot
lahat'yan (il's dl atexcuse). Bot_
tom line is they touched some-
thing they shouldn,t have AFTER
RA"IFICATION"
"What they did affected their
colleagues that's why they com_
plained to us aside from the fact
that LBRMO (the Legislative
Budget Research ard Monitoring
Office) saw a red flag. But aI their
talk is nowwaterunderthe bridge,
Itt all in the president's hands.
I washed mine,,, he also said,
maintaining that the Senate only
served its function as an indepen_
dent branch of the government.
- Vince A.ngelo C. Fereras
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