MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Friday claimed that the House of Representatives would not have ratified the final version of the budget if the P28-billion increase in the 2021 budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) had not been adopted.
“I would like to think that way na mas marami yung na-adopt dun sa House contingent kasi ang cinite na reason ni [finance committee chair] Senator (Sonny) Angara…masa-sacrifice yung buong budget kung hindi niya pagbibigyan yung House contingent, implying na baka hindi approve-an o baka hindi i-ratify ng House yung version kung saan hindi madadagdagan yung kanilang realignment, insertions ng P28 billion, at least sa DPWH,” Lacson told reporters in an online interview.
(I would like to think that way that more House amendments were adopted. The reason cited by Senator Angara to me was that the whole budget would have been sacrificed if he did not grant the amendment of the House contingent, implying that the House would not have approved or ratified the version that would not have the P28 billion increase in the DPWH budget.)
“So yun nga yung nakakalungkot,” he added.
(That’s what’s sad about it.)
Earlier, Lacson rejected the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2021 national budget. The said report was the outcome of the House’s and Senate’ reconciled version of the spending bill that will be transmitted to President Rodrigo Duterte for his signature.
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In registering his dissent, Lacson had questioned the P28-billion increase in the budget of the DPWH despite its track record of low utilization rate.
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Lacson, likewise, believes that the “personal” infrastructure projects of congressmen were given more priority under the budget, citing deductions for additional funding for the government’s National Broadband Program and for more financial assistance to local government units hit by recent typhoons.
“Hindi naman priority ng national government yung mga pinaglalalagay nila do’n,” Lacson said during the online interview.
(Some of the things they put in there was not even the priority of the national government.)
As an example, Lacson pointed to the proposed additional budget under the Assistance to Local Government Units (ALGU) for the rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts of areas hit by recent typhoons worth P15 billion, which was approved under the Senate version.
But only P4 billion for the said purpose was approved by the bicam, according to Lacson.
“Pagdating ng bicam, naubos, ang naiwan na lang P4 billion. Kasi nga, kailangan meron silang pagkunan para do’n sa mga personal na mga projects, mga pet projects ng mga conrgessmen,” he said.
(When it went through the bicam, P4 billion was left. Because of course they would need to extract more funding for the personal projects, pet projects of congressmen.)
Nevertheless, he said he understood the situation of Angara, who led the Senate contingent to the bicam.
“I can only understand his position, yung situation niya napakahirap because kailangan mag-strike siya ng balance between the needs and priorities of the House and the Senate and the country. Kung ako yun, ang susundin ko, siyempre, on top of it all, yung national interest,” Lacson said.
(I can only understand his position, his situation is really challenging because he has to strike a balance between the needs and priorities of the House, the Senate and the country. If I were him, what I will follow, of course, on top of it all, is national interest.)