‘Ready for submission to Senate:’ House panel OKs P20-B amendments in budget

Albay Rep. Joey Salceda. FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — A “small committee” in the House of Representatives approved on Monday P20-billion worth of institutional amendments, including the provision of additional funding for COVID-19 vaccine, to the proposed national budget for 2021.

In an online interview with reporters, Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda said this was settled during the meeting of the small committee tasked to receive and resolve amendments to the proposed 2021 budget on Monday morning.

“The small group had the consensus to consider only institutional amendments and departmental errata and consider individual amendments during the bicam,” Salceda said.

The breakdown of this amount is as follows:

• P5.5 billion for COVID-19 vaccine;
• P4 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to aid displaced workers;
• P2 billion for pandemic assistance to afflicted families;
• P2 billion for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) under the Department of Health (DOH) to improve and equip hospitals;
• P2 billion for the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ (AFP) acquisition of C-130 aircraft;
• P2 billion for the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to mobilize the assets of the Philippine National Police (PNP);
• P1.7 billion for the Department of Education (DepEd) for internet needs of schools;
• P400 million for the Philippine National Oil Company (PNOC) for the development of renewable energy;
• P300 million under the Department of Health (DOH) for mental health programs
• P100 million for the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to improve and modernize its system;

Salceda said members of the committee also looked into the coverage of the Bayanihan To Recover as One Act or the Bayanihan 2 in identifying the sectors that have to be prioritized in the 2021 budget.

“’Yung requirement para halimbawa sa AFP, kailangang kailangan talaga ng C-130, gusto talaga namin lima so sabi sige pagbigyan muna ng dalawa. Kahit ito ay 15 percent downpayment lang,” Salceda said.

(The requirement for example in the AFP, desperately needing C-130, we really wanted five so initially let’s give them two. Even if this is 15 percent downpayment only.)

“Tapos yung [Then with] HFEP, ako [me] as an analyst I would see some of these items actually go much higher. One that I think would go much higher I think would be HFEP. Kasi nakalagay ngayon sa existing budget na sinubit [Because what has been indicated in the existing budget that was submitted] is P4.7 [billion], but the 4.7 is only for equipping. The additional from the House is essentially for construction to complete,” he added.

Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman, who is also a member of the small committee, has been tasked to continue to receive amendments that will be tackled in the bicameral conference committee.

“Sometimes siyempre because it’s COVID, sometimes there are difficulties with communication, sometimes… So we do not, we have not closed the door but what we have closed is the book,” Salceda said.

Ready for submission to Senate

With the approval of the institutional amendments, Salceda said the House version of the proposed 2021 budget is now ready for submission to the Senate.

“The implications are, the probability of reenactment is zero, [it] empowers the government to confront socioeconomic impacts of the pandemic, and restore the Philippines as a nation state to its trajectory of growth, maintain macroeconomic stability and make growth gains sustainable,” Salceda said.

Salceda likewise, said that in his experience this was the fastest approval conducted by the small committee tasked on the budget.

“This is I think the fastest small group committee ever in the history of this House of Representatives. I have been an appropriations chair myself, senior vice chair for many years,” Salceda said.

“If you look at the context, the need is very obvious,” he added, when asked about the difference of this year’s meeting to the previous years.

The small committee is composed of the following lawmakers:

• Majority Leader Martin Romualdez
• House appropriations chair Eric Yap
• Rizal 1st District Rep. Jack Duavit
• Bataan 2nd District Rep. Jose Enrique Garcia
• Albay 2nd District Rep. Joey Salceda
• Batangas 1st District Rep. Eileen Ermita-Buhain
• BH Partylist Rep. Bernadette Herrera
• AAMBIS-OWA Partylist Rep. Sharon Garin
• Oriental Mindoro 1st District Rep. Doy Leachon
• Camiguin Rep. Xavier Jesus Romualdo
• Nueva Vizcaya Rep. Luisa Lloren Cuaresma
• Samar 1st District Rep. Edgar Marie Sarmiento
• Marikina City 2nd District Rep. Stella Luz Quimbo
• Albay 1st District Rep. Edcel Lagman

Meanwhile, Yap said the Senate will receive a soft copy of the House-approved proposed 2021 budget by October 28, as requested by some senators.

JPV