Palace: ‘Errata’ in budget only covers typo errors, not new items
MANILA, Philippines — Changes to be made in the proposed 2021 national budget via “errata” should only cover typographical errors and not contain new line items, Malacañang said Tuesday.
Several senators flagged the House of Representatives’ plan to amend the approved version of the 2021 general appropriations bill (GAB) through agency-initiated corrections.
“Well as a finding of fact, kinakailangan ma-establish na yung errata really refers to a typographical error,” presidential spokesperson Harry Roque, a former lawmaker, said in an online briefing when sought for his opinion on the matter.
(Well as a finding of fact, errata must be established to be referring to a typographical error.)
“Pero kung ito po ay additional item, then I would share the view of the senators kasi kapag third and final reading, wala na po dapat pagbabago yan,” he added.
(But if this is an additional item, then I would share the view of the senators because, after the third and final reading, nothing can be changed.)
House appropriations panel chair Rep. Eric Yap earlier said all amendments introduced by a small committee to the approved GAB were mere “errata” coming from agencies.
Asked what could be a remedy should items be added to the approved measure, Roque said President Rodrigo Duterte could veto them.
“Noong isang taon po, napakaraming na-veto ng Presidente. At karamihan doon sa na-veto ng Presidente ay yung mga line items na hindi po kasama sa original na bill ng kamara na approved on third and final reading,” Roque said,
(Last year, the President vetoed a lot of items. Many of the items the President vetoed were those not included in the original bill approved on third and final reading.)
A small committee in the lower chamber approved some P20-billion worth of amendments to the proposed national budget for 2021.
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