Senators won’t rush OK of 2019 budget over ‘insertion’ worries

Sen. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson. INQUIRER.NET PHOTO/CATHY MIRANDA

Senators agreed on Monday not to rush the approval of the 2019 national budget.

Taking the floor, Senator Panfilo Lacson asked the Senate to decide if they would opt for a re-enacted budget next year or rush the approval of the General Appropriation Bill of 2019.

“My take, Mr. President, is let them suffer the consequences of their insertions,” Lacson said.

“Because the reason for the delay is that there are too many insertions being made even as we speak and if we have a re-enacted budget, then their insertions are deemed deleted.”

“And it should not be on the Senate’s account that the budget can’t be passed before yearend,” Lacson added.

The House of Representatives is eyeing the approval of the budget bill on third and final reading by November 28 and then transmit it to the Senate.

READ: House to approve 2019 nat’l budget on Nov 28

Once transmitted, Senate Vicente “Tito” Sotto III said the Senate committee on finance being chaired by Senator Loren Legarda plans to prepare its committee report from Nov 29 to December 3.

The committee expects to bring the budget bill to the floor by December 4 to 5 and tackle the period of interpellations from December 5 to December 12, the last day of session before Congress goes on Christmas break.

“That means, the approval on second reading would need an extension of a week, and probably Dec. 19 and preparations for the bicameral conference would be after that,” Sotto, who was presiding over the session, said.

“Therefore, we’re really looking at the possibility of a bicameral report in January and a reenacted budget at least for the first two weeks of January is not impossible and we’re blankly staring at that possibility at this point because of the delay that is happening for the submission of the House to the Senate,” the Senate leader said.

But Senator Francis Escudero, who previously headed the finance committee, also stood up and shared Lacson’s sentiments.

Escudero said it would now be “impossible” for Congress to pass the 2019 budget within the year.

“I join Senator Lacson in saying that I don’t think they should rush us. This is not our fault; this is an appropriation measure. It must emanate from the House,” he said.

“It’s an impossible task actually, quite frankly speaking,” the senator added.

Minority Leader Franklin Drilon also stood up on the floor and agreed with Lacson and Escudero that the budget measure could not be passed within the year.

“I don’t think that we should lose sleep over the fact that the budget will be approved in January. First 15 days, I don’t [think] the country will collapse if we cannot approve the budget in December,” Drilon said.

“It’s better that we analyze it carefully…,” he said. “To rush it and commit mistakes, we will never forgive ourselves if we do that only to rush it.”

“I’d repeat, my view is that we will not die, the country will not collapse if the General Appropriations Bill is approved in January. It doesn’t have to be January 15…” the Minority Leader added.

Drilon then suggested waiting for the GAB from the House before the Senate decides on the timeline to approve it.

“Remember, Mr. President, next year is an election year and you know what the budget means in an election year. So let’s not rush this, let’s deliberate on it carefully, let’s give ourselves time to decide when we get the GAB from the House,” he said.

Sotto agreed with the sentiments of his colleagues that they should not rush the passage of the budget bill.

“We should take our time and not rush it,” the Senate leader said./ac