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MANILA, Philippines – The minority bloc in the House of Representatives backed President Rodrigo Duterte’s call for a special session to address the proposed 2021 national budget, saying lawmakers should put politics aside and focus on the task at hand. .
Duterte’s call for a special session, as well as the certification of the budget proposal as urgent, shows the importance of approving the budget in time for the government to promptly execute the necessary programs and projects in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
“We in the Minority support any initiative that accelerates deliberations and subsequent approval of the 2021 national budget,” the bloc said in a statement.
The minority bloc said that after the suspension of the session, it had originally intended to hold parallel deliberations to fulfill its mandate to scrutinize the budget and properly evaluate the proposed allocations for the various government line departments.
These, however, may now be unnecessary given this latest development as we in the minority will now be able to resume working with our colleagues in the majority to come up with a pro-people budget that is on time, on target and on point, ”said the block.
Legislators from the minority bloc also appealed to their colleagues: “Our priorities must now be very clear; Let’s put politics aside, avoid the infighting that has plagued the chamber in recent weeks, and focus on the task at hand. “
The General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which contains national spending planned for 2021, was supposed to be approved by the Chamber in the third and final reading on October 16.
However, on October 6, Cayetano proposed ending the deliberation period on the spending bill, even if the proposed budget of several other government agencies is still being analyzed. Cayetano and his allies suspended the House sessions until November 16, after abruptly passing the GAB in second reading that Tuesday.
Just before Cayetano took steps to end the period of debates and amendments on the 2021 spending measure, he denied holding the budget hostage as claimed by Velasco, with whom he has an exchange of terms agreement as a speaker.
But these developments in the lower legislative body irritated the president, who consequently warned late Thursday that the House of Representatives should immediately resolve the budget deadlock or take matters into its own hands.
“I just want to say in a direct statement: either you solve the problem in your impasse there and you pass the budget legally and constitutionally, if you don’t, I will do it for you,” Duterte said.
“I am not bullying. I have no ambition to intimidate. I also don’t have the ambition to stay in this pu **** g position which is purely a problem. I don’t feel like it, ”he added.
Senators also criticized Cayetano’s decision to prematurely put the House in recess, saying this could lead to a renewed budget for 2021. [ac]
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