Fix the row of speakers between you; prioritize the 2021 budget, House leaders said

MANILA, Philippines – The minority bloc in the House of Representatives has berated its top leaders for the fight for public speaking, stating that the issue must be resolved within the majority as deliberations on the 2021 national budget must come first. .

According to the minority, the speaker’s war between incumbent President Alan Peter Cayetano and his imminent successor, Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco, has stalled discussions over the proposed P4.5 billion national budget for next year. The bloc said the dispute deprived minority lawmakers of the opportunity to closely examine and ask urgent questions about the measure.

“It has effectively denied members of the Minority the right to scrutinize the budgets of government line departments as part of our duty to oversee public funds that have been used and will be spent on government programs and projects,” said the bloc. minority in a joint statement released Wednesday.

“The Minority opposes this action as we again emphasize that budget deliberations should not be derailed by a row of speakers, an issue that should be resolved by the majority among themselves. The Minority believes that the welfare of our districts takes priority above all else and that Congress must put our people before politics, “the bloc added.

The minority encouraged contested lawmakers to reconcile their differences and focus first on the 2021 budget, especially at this time of a pandemic.

“We call for sobriety and political ability, and we call on our colleagues in the Majority to reconcile their differences and return to the urgent matter at hand,” said the bloc.

“Our compatriots need us now. We will repeat: let’s put politics aside first and focus on the welfare of the people, ”he also said.

(Our compatriots need us now. Again, we reiterate: let’s put politics aside and focus on the welfare of the people).

Cayetano and Velasco’s dispute over the presidency stemmed from the shared-term agreement negotiated by President Rodrigo Duterte himself in 2019.

Under the agreement, Cayetano should serve as president of the House of Representatives during the first 15 months of the 18th Congress, and Velasco should succeed him to serve as president for the remaining 21 months.

If the gentlemen’s agreement goes through, Cayetano is supposed to hand over the speaker’s seat to Velasco in October.

READ: Velasco appeals to Cayetano to resign as president of the Chamber on October 14

On Tuesday, however, Cayetano and his allies moved to suspend the House session until November 16 after surprisingly passing the 2021 budget bill on second reading.

READ: Cayetano forces advance approval of the budget and suspends session

The minority lawmakers who signed the joint statement – 19 representatives in all – promised to continue scrutinizing the budget through their own side deliberations.

“It is in this light that we have resolved to continue and fulfill our mandate as representatives of our people. To this end, we will continue to address issues related to the various agencies as part of our efforts to ensure accountability in the use of public funds, ”minority legislators assured the public.

“The Minority will proceed with its own parallel deliberations and will present and enforce its own proposed amendments and other recommendations. In addition, for the sake of transparency and to allow the public to participate in the process, we will make these procedures accessible to the media and the public through social media platforms, ”they added.

The Inquirer Foundation supports our leaders in healthcare and still accepts cash donations to be deposited into the Banco de Oro (BDO) checking account # 007960018860 or donate through PayMaya using this link .

Read next

Don’t miss out on the latest news and information.

For comments, complaints or inquiries, please contact us.