Duterte vetoes 4 ‘rider’ provisions in 2018 budget

President Rodrigo Duterte has subjected four provisions of the 2018 General Appropriations Act to a direct veto.

Duterte vetoed the monitoring of expenses in “Other Executive Offices (OEOs)-Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB), Special Provision No. 2, ‘Monitoring Expenses and Board Members,’ Volume I-B, page 252.

“Under the Salary Standardization Law and its implementing rules, board members are already authorized to receive honoraria or per diems in the performance of their official functions,” the President said.

“Other necessary expenses incurred in the conduct of monitoring and evaluation by the MTRCB may be allowed, subject to budgeting, accounting, and auditing laws, rules and regulations,” Duterte noted.

Also vetoed was the “General Provisions, Section 87, ‘Collection of Fees in Relation to the Retention or Reacquisition of Philippine Citizenship,’ Volume I-B, page 637” that prohibits the collection of fees.

The President also rejected the “Department of Education (DepEd)-Office of the Secretary (OSEC), Special Provision No. 14, ‘Use of School Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses for Payment of Items That May Be Classified as Capital Outlay,’ Volume I-A, page 189” that authorizes the department to use appropriations for maintenance and other operating requirements for its capital outlay requirements.

“Agencies of the government cannot be deprived of their inherent authority to assess reasonable fees in the provision of services,” he said.

The President noted he was “duty-bound” to veto the use of income provided in “OEOs-Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC), Special Provision No. 1, ‘Use of Income,’ Volume I-B, page 225” to augment the operations requirements of the ERC.

“Apart from being a rider, the sources of income enumerated have been included in the Non-Tax Revenue Program for FY 2018, thereby resulting in double programming for the said income sources,” Duterte said.

“The ERC should instead make efficient use of its budget and automatic appropriations in the amount of P413.60 M,” he added.

Duterte said he subjected the “rider” provisions to a direct veto since he would not allow any attempt to circumvent the Constitution under his watch.

“By constitutional fiat, specifically Section 25 (2), Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, provisions embraced in this Budget which do not relate to some particular appropriation and are introduced herein with the purpose of amending existing laws and rules have no place in the general appropriations bill,” he said. — VDS, GMA News