House leaders insist: No pork, no parked funds in 2020 budget

Members of the bicam panel sign report on proposed 2020 national budget.

MANILA, Philippines – Leaders of the House of Representatives have assured the public that the  proposed 2020 budget — which was recently ratified — has no pork insertions and parked funds.

Both Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, and House Majority leader and Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez admitted on Thursday that the budget they passed is not perfect, but insisted that it was approved with “full transparency”.

“We passed a budget with no pork, no parked funds, and no delays with full transparency. While there is no perfect budget, both the Senate and the House of Representatives have identified areas where funds have been underutilized for various reasons,” the two lawmakers said in a joint statement.

“Thus both houses made adjustments so it can now be fully utilized for programs such as the Build, Build, Build and social welfare programs in furthering the goal improving the quality of life of Filipinos,” they added.

The comments from the two House officials came after Senator Panfilo Lacson claimed that there may be last-minute insertions in the 2020 budget, before the bicameral conference committee signed it.

He said that a quick review of the budget copies, which he received, showed that the proposed budget contains around P83 billion and P16 billion of lump sum funds and “vaguely described projects”.

Cayetano and Romualdez however insisted that the budget is in line with President Rodrigo Duterte’s vision for a “safe and comfortable life”.  They also boasted that the early approval of the budget gives the executive branch and President Duterte enough time to review the ratified bill.

This is in stark contrast with the 2019 budget, which was approved way into the year as discussions about pork-like insertions have stalled its approval.

“Now more than ever is the best time to push for reforms to see this goal through… The early approval by the Committee provides the President ample time to review the Bill’s provisions and ensure that it is aligned with the priority programs of the administration,” they said.

“We now leave it up to the Departments, Agencies, and the rest of the Executive branch to fully implement the projects and programs with no corruption and with full transparency,” they added.