MANILA, Philippines—Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago is planning to elevate to the Supreme Court the legality of congressional insertions in the national budget following the brouhaha over the double allocation of P200 million for the same C-5 road extension project in the 2008 budget.
Santiago told reporters that the high court should be able to lay down a definitive ruling on the constitutionality of changes made by congressmen and senators at the bicameral level especially with the on-going deliberations for the 2009 budget and the start of the Senate probe on the C-5 double insertion allegedly instigated by Senate President Manny Villar on Monday.
Santiago said that all changes made by Congress in the budget should be made during the plenary or floor sessions to ensure transparency before the House of Representatives or the Senate approve their respective final versions.
This meant that no changes should be made at the bicameral level when the two chambers sit down to reconcile their approved versions.
Should a legislator make an amendment to Malacańang’s proposed budget, Santiago said that each lawmaker should have a fixed quota of P200 million on how much funds they were allowed to allocate for their pet projects.
But Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, chair of the Senate finance committee, said these congressional insertions were clearly allowed under the Constitution and putting the restraints as Santiago proposed would be clamping down on their rights as lawmakers. Gil C. Cabacungan
