House eyes passage of 2019 national budget by Oct. 12

Updated (4:16 p.m.)

The House of Representatives will push through with its “hybrid budget” system as they aim to pass the proposed 2019 national budget on final reading by Oct. 12, Majority Leader and Camarines Sur 1st District Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. said Tuesday.

Andaya made the announcement after a lunch meeting with Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, and House appropriations chair Karlo Nograles.

“We will work together and cooperate so no misunderstandings, we agreed. Tuloy na ho ‘yung sinasabi natin na hybrid budget (We are going to push through with the hybrid budget). Budget hearings will continue today, and hopefully, we will pass the budget by October 12,” he told reporters in a briefing.

The hybrid budgeting system is a mix of the cash- and obligation-based budgeting. Andaya earlier said some departments might implement the obligation-based system, while some may proceed with the cash-based system.

READ: Even before House-DBM squabble, 2019 budget was already a ‘hybrid’ — Andaya

Andaya also said they have agreed to restore the budget cuts from the Department of Health, Department of Education, and the Department of Public Works and Highways, among others.

“We will help each other in finding areas and sources for these funds… Unang-una nag-agree kami na may kakulangan… Na ibabalik ang mga kakulangan na ‘yon of course selected lang, hindi naman kaya lahat (We agreed that there were shortfalls…we also agreed that we would offset these shortfalls but not all),” he said.

Andaya said they are looking at unprogrammed funds and supplemental budgets as possible sources for the restored programs because as of now they would retain the P3.757-trillion 2019 cash-based budget.

“We’re looking at options. Maybe we can source some from the unprogrammed funds, maybe we can source some from the supplemental budget. So ngayon pa lang we’re doing the numbers crunching na. We’re also looking at the revenue side para masuportahan yung karagdagan na gastusin ng gobyerno (So now we are doing number cruching. We are aso looking at the revenue sude to support the added government expenses),” he explained.

But Andaya admitted that the source for the possible supplemental budgets would remain a challenge.

“That was the question I raised to Secretary Diokno. Necessarily, we have to have additional income, there should be program loans that have to come in, Secretary Dominguez was also there, he was aware,” he said.

The lawmaker also said they are eyeing supplemental budgets for the Bangsamoro Organic Law plebiscite and the Internal Revenue Allotment for 2019.

These two alone could already amount to P140 billion, Andaya said. /ee