Ungab: Changes made to 2020 budget recommended by Cabinet, gov’t agencies

MANILA, Philippines — Changes to the bill on the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 were based on the President’s priorities and recommendations from the Cabinet and other government agencies.

Such was the claim of House appropriations panel chairperson Isidro Ungab on Friday in answer to Senator Panfilo Lacson’s allegations that members of the House of Representatives made last-minute insertions before the bicameral conference committee signed the budget.

The senator said the House insertions could reach P83-billion worth of projects, or even more.

READ: Lacson bares last minute insertions on 2020 budget

Ungab maintained that budget, or the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), contains no pork, no parked funds, and no last-minute insertions.

“All changes made in the GAB were aligned with the President’s priorities and were based on the recommendations of the Cabinet Departments and other government agencies,” Ungab said in a statement.

He pointed out that both chambers of Congress ratified the budget bill last Wednesday and senators and congressmen “agreed on the amendments to, and final version of, the 2020 GAB” at the bicam.

Ungab also slammed attempts to “label the 2020 budget pork-ridden by constantly redefining ‘pork’” as “unfair and misleading.”

He also claimed that the budget process was conducted with “utmost transparency.”

“The 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) approved by the bicameral conference committee is a powerful tool that will help deliver President Duterte’s goal of a safe and comfortable life for all,” he insisted.

“It represents the clear 2020 vision of the President and his economic strategy anchored on increased spending in infrastructure and human capital development,” Ungab added.

He also said that projects under the 2030 budget will help “sustain” the country’s status as “Asia’s best-performing economies.”

Edited by MUF