Lacson says House ‘itemized’ funds actually realigned

Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Sunday warned the public against falling for the House leaders’ claim that their decision to itemize the lump-sum allotments in the long-delayed P3.8-trillion budget for 2019 was meant to ensure “transparency.”

Lacson, who had taken to task Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her supporters in the House of Representatives for tinkering with the ratified spending bill, dismissed their claim as “hypocrisy” and described it as “revolting.”

He said it was clear that the allocations for the pet projects of Arroyo and her allies suddenly increased by P95.1 billion after they manipulated the proposed national budget after its final version was adopted by Congress on Feb. 8.

“Don’t be fooled by congressmen tasked to make us believe they merely ‘itemized’ when in fact, they arbitrarily realigned to favored districts several appropriations already approved by … Congress thereby sacrificing already vetted [government] projects,” Lacson said in a Twitter post.

Unconstitutional

“Trying to hide their unconstitutional postratification budget realignments by claiming they wanted to itemize lump sums in the name of transparency. If that’s not irony—or hypocrisy—I don’t know what is,” he said.

The senator, known for his crusade against the pork barrel system, reiterated that itemization, or the listing of “individual items” in the draft budget, was different from realignment, “which is to change or restore [the funds] to a different [use].”

Said Lacson: “It’s bad enough that the House … leadership realigned a whopping P95.1 billion in the … proposed budget for 2019 to favored districts. It’s much more revolting that they tried to hide it by invoking ‘transparency.’”

Citing the findings of the Senate’s Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office, Lacson said more than P72.3 billion was taken away by the House from the infrastructure projects under the two “major final outputs” of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

P70B ‘parked’ in DPWH budget

Among these were big-ticket projects under the Duterte administration’s infrastructure program.

He said the House leaders also unlawfully siphoned off P79.7 billion from several legislative districts to other districts and even “parked” at least P70 billion in the DPWH budget.

Another P15.1 billion was also reallocated from the budget of the Department of Health for the construction of health centers, according to Lacson.

“Parking the P70 billion in the DPWH central office was meant to make it difficult for people, including myself, to trace where it will go. You could call it a veiled effort to conceal large ‘pork insertions’ of some congressmen,” he said.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III has refused to sign the final version of the budget because of the allegedly illegal changes made by the House.

Insisting on their itemization claim, House leaders also stepped up their attack on the Senate on Sunday, saying the senators were to blame for the delay in the signing of the budget.

“Only [Senate President Vicente Sotto III’s] signature is not there and he is standing firm against signing it. Who now is blocking the budget and putting the nation at risk?” House Majority Leader Fredenil Castro said.

Slower growth rate

The government is operating on the reenacted 2018 budget, meaning no new projects can be funded.

Such projects may be funded only once the new budget passes into law.

Already, the government’s economic managers have cut down their growth projection this year to 6-7 percent from 7-8 percent as a result of the impasse.

On Saturday, the chair of the House appropriations committee, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., issued what sounded like an ultimatum to the Senate.

“If the Senate is indeed serious [about] enacting a General Appropriations Act for 2019, we have until May this year to complete our task,” Andaya said.

Currently in recess, Congress resumes sessions on May 20 and sits until June 7.

“That is our last chance to pass the national budget,” Andaya said. He said the House had “done its duty.”

President Rodrigo Duterte, however, has said that he will not sign the budget if it is illegal, indicating he will veto the budget measure if it is handed to him containing unlawful realignments. —WITH A REPORT FROM DJ YAP