Senators, congressmen meet to iron out kinks in 2019 budget

The Senate building at the GSIS Complex in Pasay City (Photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — Senators and congressmen met at the Senate on Monday to discuss the impasse on the 2019 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

Present at the meeting were Senators Loren Legarda, Panfilo Lacson, and Gringo Honasan, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya, San Juan City Representative Ronaldo Zamora, and Albay Representative Edcel Lagman.

Andaya and Lagman expressed hope the conflicts on the budget would be resolved in the meeting.

The leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives have locked horns over the GAB, which they already ratified last February 8.

But despite the ratification by both chambers, the House changed the GAB to “itemize” the alleged lump sum appropriations of the Senate.

The Senate, meanwhile, insisted that changing the GAB even after it was already ratified was a violation of the Constitution.

The government will continue to operate under the 2018 national budget unless Congress transmits the ratified GAB to Presidenr Rodrigo Duterte for signature. /cbb