Nograles to be ousted as House budget chief, sources say

Update (3:12 p.m.)

Davao City 1st District Rep. Karlo Nograles will be ousted as the chair of the powerful House of Representatives appropriations committee, sources have said.

Several lawmakers privy to the situation confirmed this to Inquirer on Monday, the start of the plenary debates on the proposed 2019 budget.

The House plenary deliberations on the P3.757-trillion 2019 budget was slated at 10:00 a.m. on Monday but the session was suspended as of posting time.

Such a change in committee chairmanship could only be made while the chamber is in session and upon the motion of the Majority Leader or his deputy and the plenary’s approval.

The report was not yet confirmed by the House leadership.

However, at around 1:20 p.m., Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, an ally of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, told reporters that the “status quo” remains or nothing would change.

He refused to give further details saying he is “not allowed to speak” on the matter.

But Nograles, in a statement released 2:14 p.m., dismissed these claims.

He said Suarez “cannot speak for the majority coalition, and has in fact already withdrawn his previous statement.”

“Be that as it may, if anybody wants to remove me as Chair of the Committee on Appropriations, then they can have the position,” Nograles added.

READ: Nograles dismisses claims he would be ousted as House budget chief

/vvp