Duterte may veto alleged ‘pork’ in 2020 budget if found unconstitutional – Palace

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte will veto the alleged “pork” in the proposed national budget for 2020 should he deem it unconstitutional, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said. Panelo said this after Senator Panfilo Lacson alleged that 22 House deputy speakers would be given an additional allocation of P1.5 billion each, while each House member would supposedly get P700 million. ”With respect do’n sa (to the) allegation of pork, it’s always the President who will decide. The President is a lawyer. If from his legal point of view [it] is unconstitutional relative to this alleged pork, then he will veto that as he did prior to this budget,” Panelo said in a Palace briefing on Tuesday. It can be recalled that when the President signed the national budget for 2019, he vetoed items of appropriations under the Department of Public Works and Highways amounting to P95.3 billion “for falling outside the government’s programmed priorities.” “Whether or not this is pork barrel, that will depend on the evaluation of the President consistent with what the Constitution dictates and what the Supreme Court has decided on the matter,” Panelo went on. For the 2019 budget, members of the congressional bicameral conference committee approved last February the expenditure plan for the said year following a budget deadlock. This despite earlier objections, also raised by Lacson, over alleged pork barrel insertions in the budget. READ: Deadlock ends as Senate-House panel approves P3.8-T nat’l budget for 2019  The President had already certified as urgent the proposed P4.1-trillion 2020 national budget to avoid delays in its passage.  /muf READ: Budget bill certified as urgent