Suansing thinks work ethic led to her getting House appropriations post

Nueva Ecija First District Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing in her campaign photo (Picture from Ate Mika Suansing’s Facebook page)

MANILA, Philippines — When she was introduced as a Harvard University alumna during a press briefing, Nueva Ecija 1st District Rep. Mikaela Angela Suansing gave shy giggles, as if a humble appeal not to parade her credentials in public.

Eventually, Suansing was asked why she thinks she was picked to head the House of Representatives’ committee on appropriations, a sensitive post often held by veteran male lawmakers like former Albay Rep. Edcel Lgman, former Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya, Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, and her predecessor, Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co.

While still shy, Suansing speculated that the House leadership saw her work ethic and ability to crunch numbers — which will be much-needed once budget deliberations start.

“It’s hard to answer the question as to why I was picked, but maybe, I hope our colleagues saw how hardworking I am, maybe the past Congress saw that when I was a senior vice chairperson of the committee on ways and means,” she told reporters at the Batasang Pambansa on Monday.

“During that time, I lost count of how many times I stood before the Congress’ plenary to debate with our colleagues, especially the veteran ones. For example, our beloved Congressman Edcel Lagman – we stood for three or five days at the plenary just to do debates,” she added.

Suansing also admitted to being a “numbers nerd,” which she believes will be a very important asset for any appropriations chairperson.

“Maybe in terms of background, I can say that I am a numbers nerd. Maybe that is what they saw – that when we make presentations, we really scrutinize the numbers. And I think that’s a very important characteristic of an appropriations chair. It’s really being able to scrutinize numbers and make sense of the numbers and trends,” she said.

“Maybe they also saw — I have so many assumptions as to what they saw in me —but maybe they saw my background. I was a management consultant in the past so that used to be my job – to scrutinize trends, create business cases, so these are the exercises needed when you look into the budget,” she added.

Suansing, a graduate of Management Engineering from the Ateneo de Manila University who also holds a Masters in Public Policy from Harvard, was elected by the Majority for the appropriations post last July 29.

Suansing’s election came a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona), where greater budget scrutiny was a central theme.

In his Sona speech, Marcos warned members of both the House and the Senate that he would not sign any proposed national budget if it is not aligned with the administration’s programs — adding that he is willing to have a reenacted budget if the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) deviates largely from the National Expenditures Program (NEP).

READ: Marcos tells Congress: I won’t sign budget not aligned with gov’t 

Marcos’ warning came amid concerns amid the budget process, and warnings that funds for the country’s flood control projects may have been lost to corruption.

Recently, Senator Panfilo Lacson warned that half of the country’s almost P2 trillion funds from 2011 for flood control projects may have been pocketed already — stressing the need for a review.

READ: P1 trillion for flood control likely lost due to graft – Lacson 

House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez called for reforms, like opening bicameral conference committee meetings between the House and the Senate to public scrutiny.

On Monday, Suansing vowed to push for three reforms to the budget deliberation process — first, the abolition of the so-called “small committee;” second, opening the bicameral conference committee meeting for public viewing; and third, allowing civil society organizations to observe the process and air grievances.

Instead of a small committee, Suansing said she will call for the creation of a subcommittee that will receive and discuss proposed amendments to the annual budget from the executive.

This will be established at the start of the budget deliberations — and not at the end — and will be composed of an appropriations senior vice chairperson or a vice chairperson, members nominated by political parties and the party-list coalition, and members nominated by the Minority.

READ: Suansing vows to pursue reforms in budget: No small committee anymore 

Regarding the third reform, Suansing said that they will allot certain days of the budget process for civil society groups to comment and propose their amendments to the NEP or the budget from the executive. /apl

READ: People’s budget: Suansing seeks to open budget bill to public queries