2021 budget bill ready Friday
Contingents from the Senate and House of Representatives target the passage of the 2021 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) by Friday as the bicameral conference committee starts deliberations on the expenditure plan today.
House Committee on Appropriations chair Eric Yap said the Congress aims to produce the printed copy of the 2021 GAB before the holiday break starts.
“We will encode it by 9 December and have the budget printed by the third week of December and have it on the President’s desk for signature,” Yap said.
He also assured that the approval of the national budget won’t be delayed by the bicam as it would capacitate the country in recovering from the ongoing pandemic and recent typhoons.
The two chambers of Congress would reconcile their approved versions of the proposed P4.5-trillion national budget. Yap assured this bill remains “pork barrel-free.”
“All I can see is a project that will benefit the Filipino people,” Yap said.
The bottomline is the DPWH made the amendments and the House just adopted them.
He stressed that House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco did not take part in amending the 2021 GAB, debunking claims that the lawmakers allied with him received hikes in their district budgets after they booted out Alan Peter Cayetano from the speakership.
This is contrary to Senator Panfilo Lacson’s claims that pro-Velasco congressmen received noticeable increases in their district’s public works’ allocations after Cayetano’s ouster.
“Speaker Velasco respects my independence, he let me do my job. He just told me to do what is good for the Filipino people,” said Yap, noting that he did not vote for either Cayetano or Velasco.
Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund “LRay” Villafuerte, a deputy speaker under Cayetano’s speakership, claimed that about P386 million was cut from his district’s allocations.
Yap, in response, said the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) could have reallocated Villafuerte’s district’s fund to projects that are set to be finished by 2022.
“The bottomline is the DPWH made the amendments and the House just adopted them,” he stressed.
We will encode it by 9 December and have the budget printed by the third week of December and have it on the President’s desk for signature.
Albay Representative Joey Salceda also earlier rebuffed Lacson’s claims, saying that the P7.5-billion infrastructure projects in his district have been there even under the leadership of Cayetano.
Lacson also claimed that the budget of Benguet, whose legislative caretaker is Yap, also received a higher budget following the change in House leadership.
Benguet experienced both budget cuts and increases, Yap said. Yap will lead the 21-member House contingent in the bicam along with Deputy Speakers Salvador “Doy” Leachon and Mikee Romero.
Sixteen members from the majority will also join them. They are Majority Leader Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Pampanga Rep. Juan Pablo “Rimpy” Bondoc, Rizal Rep. Michael John Duavit, Deputy Majority Leader Bernadette Herrera, Romblon Rep. Eleandro Jesus Madrona, Negros Occidental Rep. Francisco Benitez, and Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison.
Also designated were Deputy Speaker Loren Legarda, Assistant Majority Leader Kristine Singson-Meehan, Deputy Speaker Roberto Puno, Deputy Speaker Lito Atienza, Batangas Rep. Eileen Ermita- Buhain, Valenzuela Rep. Eric Martinez, Abra Rep. Joseph Bernos, Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, and Valenzuela City Rep. Weslie Gatchalian.
House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco did not take part in amending the 2021 GAB, debunking claims that the lawmakers allied with him received hikes in their district budgets after they have booted out Alan Peter Cayetano from the speakership.
Minority Leader Joseph Stephen “Caraps” Paduano and independent lawmaker Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman were selected as well.
Velasco earlier stated that the ratification of the 2021 GAB is the House’s “top priority.”