House committee OKs President’s budget for 2017 in 10 minutes

President Rodrigo Duterte. MALACAÑANG FILE PHOTO

The House of Representatives appropriations committee on Tuesday approved in less than 10 minutes the proposed P19.99 billion budget of the Office of the President (OP) for 2017.

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea attended the hearing of the budget which was presented by Rizalina Justol, the OP’s Deputy Executive Secretary for Finance and Administration.

Justol said the OP’s budget increased by 607 percent because more than three fourths or 77 percent or P15.46 billion was earmarked for the Philippine hosting of the 50th anniversary of the Asean summit in 2017.

READ: Duterte defends Palace budget

“The P15.4 billion was intended to cover the expenses for the leaders’ summit, the senior officials’ meeting, as well as activities for the 50th founding anniversary of the Asean in 2017,” Justol said.

Meanwhile, the OP’s proposed P2 billion confidential and intelligence funds were a 300-percent increase from P500 million in 2016.

Justol said the increase in intelligence funds was due to the administration’s drive “to sustain the campaign against illegal drugs.”

READ: Duterte’s 1st nat’l budget should fund 16K ‘gunless’ cops—Recto

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, a member of the Liberal Party contingent in the minority bloc, said he would reserve his questions about the 607-percent increase in the OP budget for the plenary debates on the General Appropriations Act.

Lagman said it is tradition in Congress to not interpose questions about the President’s budget before the appropriations committee.

After the committee approval, the budget or the proposed General Appropriations Act would be subjected to second reading during the plenary debates.

Minority leader Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said the minority was requested not to grill the President’s budget in the committee./rga