House to Senate: Free budget deliberations from politics

The House of Representatives on Thursday advised senators to shun politics as they deliberate on the proposed P1.040-trillion 2006 General Appropriations Act to ensure that members of the Cabinet would attend the hearings. Describing senators as "intimidating" and "hostile," House majority floor leader Rep. Prospero Nograles from Davao believes that delay in the approval of the budget is likely due to lengthy interrogation by senators of Cabinet members on matters unrelated budget. Nograles feared Cabinet officials attending Senate budget hearings would end up answering questions on the controversies hounding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her administration. "It is difficult for executives to appear in a 'hostile' Senate environment," Nograles said. The Senate finance committee chaired by Senator Manuel Villar gave a one-peso budget for the Office of the Press Secretary after presidential spokesman Ignacio Bunye snubbed the budget hearing, citing Executive Order 464, which prohibits government officials from appearing before congress without the approval of the president. The House is scheduled to subject the proposed budget for plenary debates, but the Senate refused to act on it unless EO 464 is revoked. Nograles said the EO should not be used as an excuse to delay budget deliberations, saying EO 464 is not the problem but the way senators handle their inquiries. "Some Cabinet officials do not want to suffer the stress national security adviser Norberto Gonzales had suffered," Nograles said, citing intense grilling by senators subjected Gonzales to stress to the point of heart attack. However, House leaders, including Nograles, are optimistic that the budget bill could still be passed.-GMANEWS.TV