Duterte does not meddle in budget word war, says solon

Majority Floor Leader Representative Rolando Andaya said on Monday that the statements of Malacañang officials regarding the proposed 2019 budget were not the President’s.

“Unfortunate statements were uttered by various parties referring to reenacted budget, friendlier congress, this and that, were not authorized by the president,” Andaya said in a press briefing on Wednesday.

“I personally spoke to him, he did not utter those words. Let’s leave it at that, I think the president has opened the lines of communication on a possible agreement on how the budget for 2019 will be executed,” he added

Andaya said that he and Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were in a meeting with Duterte on Tuesday night. During the talks, the President gave assurances that he will talk with Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez and Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno.

Lawmakers and Malacañang officials have traded barbs over the issue of shifting from an obligation-based to a cash-based budgeting system for 2019.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that he is alarmed with the suspension of budget hearings in Congress. He also questioned its support of the administration, and reminded them that they are in an alliance.

Diokno, on the other hand, joked that they would just wait for a friendlier Congress to implement the cash-based budgeting system.  He also implied that the representatives reject the said measure because they would want more projects to be implemented since it is an election year.

READ: Budget standoff: ‘We’re your allies,’ Palace reminds House  

READ: Palace ‘alarmed’ over suspension of House budget hearings  

READ: Diokno to House: No budget negotiations, no concessions

On the part of the House members’ reactions on the cash-based budgeting, Andaya said that lawmakers from the majority might have been unaware of the circumstances relating to the new process.

“Let’s put it this way, hindi lang naintindihan lahat ng majority members na congressman kung ano ‘yong epekto no’n (Let’s put it this way, the members of the majority did not understand the effects of cash-based budgeting) ,” he said. /ee