F pnrr-lPrrtqE ontr-Y
FR]DAY / SEPTEMBER 20,2o1q '
WVII,V.INQUIRER.NET
Budgetbill
as u}'gent
By Julie M. Aurelio-
and Melvin Gascon
@Team_Inquirer
President Duterte has decided
to certify the proposed P4.1-
trillion 2o2o national budget
to avoid delays in its passage
that rnay impede.the delivery
of balic sewices and economic
Proglamsr
Mirlacanang said the Presi-
dent certified the measure on
Tuesday to stress the impor-
tance of prioritizing its pas-
sage and the govitrnment's
mandate to seive and protect.
"In certifying the urgency
of the budget bill, the Presi-
dent wants to convey to the
members of congress the im-
portance bf passing the gener-
al appropriations bill (GAB) on
time to avold a repeat of
reenacted budget that
wreaked havoc on the eco-
nomic program of this admin-
istration, affected the tlmely
deli\try of basic services to
the pebple and, ultimately,
slowed our growth during the
first quarter of this year,"
presidential spokesperson Sal-
vador Panelo said.
Fearing a reenacted budget
"Government operations
must never be hampered and
our constitutional mandate to
serve the Filipino peopie must
prevail over partisan consider-
ations and constant differences
or varying ir'rterpretations on
the budget," he added.
The Palace official was re-
ferring to the fact that the gov-
ernment operated on a reen-
acted budget for the first four
months of zor9, slowing down
econonic growth and the im-
plementation of.programs.
Lawmakers were locked in
an impasse over the budget,
trading accusations on alLeged
insertions in the 2019 national
budget.
The President signed the
P3.757-trillion budget in April,
butvetoed P95.3 billion in pro-
jects of the Department of
Public works and Highways,
which were not in the pro-
grammed priorities.
.Confident ofpassage
Earlier, House committee
on ways and means chair Rip.
Joey Salceda expressed opti-
mism that the lower chamber
is capable of passing the pro-
posed zozo budget before the
end ofSeptember.
He said each lawmaker
would have Proo million for
their districts' projects, of
which P7o millionwill go to in-
frastructure projects and P3o
inillion to soft programs like'
medical assistance.
House leaders said they ex-
a pected passage in record time
oh Frlday of the budget to
"move the nation forward," af-
ter its economic growth
crawled due to delay in the
passage of the 2019 budget.
"The need to pass the bud-
get on time is of immense im-
portance in helping boost the
economy, that is why we thank
President Duterte for certify-
ing the budget as an urgent
measure.''saifl Savao city Rep.
lsidro Ungab, House appropri-
ations committee chair,
One-day approval
The President's certifica-
tion allows Congress to pass
the P4.1-trillion proposed bud-
get on second and third read-
ings on the same day, accord-
ing to Ungab.
"Thus, it is possible that
the [cAB] will be passed this
Friday, since it was already
certified
as urgent," he said.
House Maiority Floor Lead-
er and Leyte Rep. Martin Ro-
mualdez asiured Fitipino tax-
payers that the 2o2o budgel
will be a "reflection not ody q *p4qn'-4
the President's vision, but alst
of the people's will." INQ
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