Palace says House majority leader mentally challenged

PAY HIKE DEMAND Public elementary school teachers call for a nationwide increase of salaries in Manila during a protest action last November. House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. has threatened to take Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to court if salary increases for civil servants are suspended this month due to the delay in the 2019 budget. —MARIANNE BERMUDEZ

House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. lacks common sense, Malacañang said on Tuesday after the Camarines Sur representative threatened to take Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno to court if he suspended payment of salary increases to civil servants this month as a result of the delay in the approval of the P3.8-trillion national budget for 2019.

The government is operating on the reenacted 2018 national budget, also about P3.8 trillion, because of Congress’ failure to enact the 2019 budget before going on Christmas recess in December last year.

The 2019 national budget contains new spending for the fourth and last tranche of salary increases for civil servants that began to be implemented under the Salary Standardization Law (SSL) in 2016.

But payment of the salary increases, scheduled for Jan. 15, has to wait until Congress clears this year’s expenditure program, according to Diokno.

Andaya does not agree.

Delay has no effect

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Andaya said the government was able to implement the salary increase last year even “without a specific budget for it.”

Since President Rodrigo Duterte had approved the congressional resolution extending the validity of certain portions of the 2018 budget, Andaya said, the scheduled raise should not be affected by the 2019 budget delay.

Andaya warned that he would take Diokno to the Supreme Court if the budget secretary insisted on suspending payment of the salary increases on Jan. 15.

Commenting on Andaya’s threat on Tuesday, presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the House leader “lacks common sense.”

Panelo said the spending for the raise in the 2018 budget was for the third tranche, while the raise that was supposed to be paid on Jan. 15 was the fourth tranche the spending for which was provided for in the 2019 budget.

“How can you get funds [if] there was no source for it, because it (the 2018 budget) only covered the third tranche?” he asked.

Go ahead

Panelo said the Palace was not disturbed by Andaya’s threat.

“In fact (Andaya) is being dared (by Diokno) to file it. Do your worse and we will do our best,” he said.

In a text message to Inquirer.net earlier on Tuesday, Diokno said Andaya could go ahead with the case he wanted to bring to the Supreme Court.

“It’s elementary. The salary level authorized in the 2018 budget covers the third tranche of SSL but not the fourth tranche,” he said.

“The fourth tranche is provided for in the 2019 President’s Budget. Since the 2019 budget is yet to be approved, there is no legal basis for giving the fourth tranche,” Diokno added.

Malacañang urged Congress on Monday night to pass the 2019 budget to enable the government to meet the schedule for the payment of the fourth tranche.

Other sources

Sen. Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday that the government could still pay the salary increases without the new budget by tapping the Miscellaneous and Personnel Benefit Fund.

Congress could also pass a supplemental budget to finance the raise, he said.

There was no immediate comment from Diokno.

The House approved the 2019 national budget on Nov. 20 last year and sent it to the Senate two days later.

By then, however, it was already too late for the Senate to clear it before Congress broke up for Christmas.

Delayed by pork

Sen. Panfilo Lacson blamed the delay in the House on the creation of pork, huge chunks of which he found in the spending bill and made public as the long holiday season set in.

Lacson discovered that P2.4 billion had been added to the district of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and P1.9 billion to the district of Andaya.

When the Palace demanded an explanation, the House accused Diokno of “inserting” P75 billion in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) without the knowledge of the President, and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) of favoring certain contractors for projects in Sorsogon where the budget chief’s in-laws were incumbent officials.

Diokno called the charges “illusory” and said the additional budget for the DPWH was intended to raise the government’s infrastructure spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and that the DBM had no role in the selection of contractors, a job that belonged to the DPWH.

Congress resumes session on Jan. 14. Sen. Loren Legarda, chair of the Senate finance committee, said on Tuesday that the chamber would pass the 2019 budget “soon.”

Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said the chamber would “try to finish it as ratified in two weeks.”

Senate President Vicente Sotto III said President Duterte would sign the budget bill by Jan. 27, barring delay in the reconciliation of the conflicting versions in conference with the House. —Reports from Christine O. Avendaño, Marlon Ramos, Leila B. Salaverria, DJ Yap and Nestor Corrales