Duterte to meet with Diokno, Dominguez amid budget impasse

President Rodrigo Duterte will meet with his budget and finance chiefs to see if a compromise is possible following the impasse on the over the P3.76-trillion proposed national budget for 2019.

“Tinanong ko po ang Presidente, ang sabi lang po niya sa akin ay isinangguni sa kaniya iyan ng mga kongresista iyong kanilang problema sa cash-based system,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in an interview over radio dzRH.

“Ang sinabi niya ay pupulungin niya ngayong araw na ito, mamayang hapon, si Secretary [Benjamin] Diokno at si Secretary [Carlos “Sonny” García III ] Dominguez kung pupuwedeng makipag-compromise ang kaniyang dalawang Gabinete doon sa mga kongresista,” Roque said without elaborating on the “compromise” that the President was eyeing.

“Pero kagaya ng mga dating polisiya ng Presidente, hinahayaan niya ang mga Gabineteng magdesisyon at sinisiguro na lang niya na lahat ng Gabinete ay ginagawa ang kanilang mga katungkulan,” Roque said.

At the Meet Inquirer Multimedia Forum on Tuesday, Diokno said the cash-based appropriations system for next year was “nonnegotiable.”   /vvp

READ: Diokno to House: No budget negotiations, no concessions