Palace to Lacson: Point out ‘parked’ P20B projects in 2020 budget bill

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang has urged Senator Panfilo Lacson to identify the alleged P20 billion worth of questionable projects that have been “parked” in the proposed 2020 budget, adding that President Rodrigo Duterte “will remove it.”

“Tell Senator Lacson to point out what specific item in the GAA (General Appropriations Act) the P20-B pork barrel he is referring to and the President will remove it,” Palace spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in a text message.

Panelo was reacting to the revelation of Lacson over the weekend that questionable appropriations have been “parked” in some departments in the final version of the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020.

READ: Not pork, but P20-B projects ‘parked’ in 2020 budget – Lacson

Lacson said these “unclear” allotments totaling P20 billion — some in the items for the Departments of Public Works and Highways, and the Interior and Local Government —could not be regarded as pork since these were already present in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) that Malacañang had submitted for congressional approval.

Lacson made the statement as the Senate focuses its attention on the proposed General Appropriations Bill (GAB) so that the President could sign it before the end of the year. /je