Bicam OKs proposed P3.002-T budget with P500M for OVP

By: Maila Ager - 8 years ago

Senator Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

The congressional bicameral conference committee has approved the proposed P3.002-trillion national budget, which included a P500-million budget for presidential aspirant Vice President Jejomar Binay’s office in 2016, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.

“Yes, that was approved in the bicam and they are working out on the details as we speak today. The bicam report will be submitted tomorrow afternoon for ratification,” Drilon said.

Once ratified by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, the bicam report will now then be submitted to President Benigno Aquino III next week for signature.

“Sometime next week, because the General Appropriations Act must be printed. So sometime next week it will be submitted to the President and give the President more or less one week to go over it and prepare the veto message, if any,” Drilon said.

Asked if the bicameral committee adopted the P500 million budget for the Office of the Vice President (OVP), the Senate leader said: “To my information, yes.”

It was Senate Minority Juan Ponce Enrile, who proposed to raise the OVP’s budget from the original P230 million budget proposal to P500 million next year.

READ: Enrile proposes to raise OVP’s 2016 budget to P500 million

Drilon said the bicameral committee also approved the P64 -illion budget for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) next year without any cuts.

This, amid reports that the Senate has slashed the CCT funds by P8 billion, from P64 billion to P56 billion.

“Wala. I checked that one because the question was raised to me. I checked with our chair, Sen. Loren Legarda, and she said no, there was no such (deduction),” he said. Legarda is chair of the Senate finance committee.

“That was the version that was brought by the Senate contingent to the bicam. Of course, it was subject to discussion in the bicam,” Drilon added. TVJ