Drilon: Duterte has ‘no choice’ but to veto P75-B unconstitutional funds

Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon. INQUIRER.net photo / CATHY MIRANDA

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte has no choice but to veto the P75-billion worth of programs and projects in the 2019 budget allegedly inserted by the House of Representatives after the ratification of the bicameral conference committee (bicam) report, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said Thursday.

“The President has no choice but to veto the questionable items in the budget, particularly P75-billion worth of pork barrel funds, which was illegally inserted into the budget after both houses ratified the bicameral conference report,” Drilon said in a Kapihan forum at the Senate.

The senator noted Senate President Vicente Sotto’s certification on the budget bill where he specifically said that his signature on the measure was limited  to those items approved by the bicameral conference committee and ratified both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

READ: Sotto signs 2019 national budget with strong reservations

In signing the  budget bill, Sotto expressed his “strong  reservations,” insisting that the P75-billion worth of programs or projects under the Local Infrastructure Program of the Department of Public Works and Highways funded through “internal realignments” were unconstitutional.

“In effect, the certification of Senate President Sotto denies the legality and approval of the P75-billion worth of realignments,” Drilon  pointed out.

Drilon said Sotto’s reservations attest that the said portion of the budget was “not validly passed” therefore it could not be passed into law.

“The Senate President did not attest to the valid passage of the P75-billion worth of insertions,” he said.

“And therefore, the President has no choice but to veto because the Senate President said that portion was not validly passed. It (budget) could not be signed into law as a whole,” Drilon added. /jpv