Senate OKs proposed 2020 budget

The Senate, by a 22-0-0 vote, approved on second and third reading yesterday, Wednesday, Nov. 27, the proposed P4.1-trillion General Appropriation Act (GAA or national budget) for 2020.

Following the approval of the proposed budget, Senate President Vicente C. Sotto III formed a 15man bicameral conference committee (BCC) panel to meet with its 13-man House of Representatives counterpart to iron out the differing provisions of the GAA based on House Bill 4228.

The Senate bicameral panel will be headed by Senator Juan Edgardo M. Angara, chairman of the Senate Finance committee. Nine senators were named vice

chairman.

All in all, the Senate panel will be composed of Senate President Ralph G. Recto, Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon and Senators Panfilo M. Lacson, Imee R. Marcos, Cynthia A. Villar,

Pia S. Cayetano, Christopher Lawrence ‘’Bong’’ Go, Sherwin Gatchalian, Risa Hontiveros, Richard J. Gordon, Joel Villanueva, Nancy Binay, Grace Poe, and Francis N. Pangilinan. Drilon, Go and Drilon congratulated the Senate Finance committee for a job well done.

Explaining his vote, Go thanked Angara for increasing by P7 billion the budget of the Department of Health that would, among others, ensure that no nurses or other health workers shall be separated from the DOH’s rolls of employees.

He, likewise, thanked both the

Senate and Lower House for the swift passage of the money bill.

Go also asked the bicameral conference committee of both chambers to iron out their differing provisions of the budget to avoid the administration from using a re-enacted budget.

“Let us work double time,” he added, referring to a congressional objective of submitting the proposed 2020 GAA to Malacañang before the end of the year.