Senators to give budget final push within the year

Senate leaders vowed to work double time to approve the 2019 national budget before the end of the year.

Emerging from a meeting with Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno Wednesday, Senate President Vicente Sotto III raised the possibility of a special session to give enough time for the deliberations. 

“Kung bibilisan ang interpellation baka kayang matapos. ‘Yung signing ng President, kaya hanggang December 31. Baka nga (magkaroon ng special session),” he said.

Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said he would talk to his colleagues on the request of Malacanang to pass the budget within the year.

“There’s an appeal from Malacañang and all agencies if we can approve the budget before January 1 of 2019. So ang plano namin, ang counter proposal namin is to work double time, we start on Tuesday (December 4) 10 a.m. sponsorship of the budget and continue deliberating the budget until December 7,” he explained to reporters.

The deliberations from December 4, Tuesday to December 7, Friday will be from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.  If needed, senators would extend on December 10 and 11.

“We would like to show the public that the Senate is willing to work double time, over time even though we just got the budget measure only a few days ago. But we will do our job. Hindi namin papahiyain ang bayan, gagawin namin ang aming duty which is to approve the budget before the end of this year,” he said.

He said Senate leaders plan to have the budget bill approved on second and third reading by December 11, then hold a one-day bicameral conference committee meeting on December 12, and have it ratified by December 13. 

“The leadership will try to talk to all our members today to be able to convince them on the new schedule. Hopefully they will agree to the new timeline,” Zubiri said.

He said the sub-committees have finished conducting hearings and he expects that fundamental or clarificatory questions will be asked during the plenary debates.

“It’s just a matter of checking if there were realignments, where the alignments were placed, what are the importance of these realignments. Mukhang kaya naman, kakayanin naming tapusin before the Christmas break,” he said.

Congress is set to go on break on December 14.

Zubiri stressed that the government needs the new budget before the year ends so as not to delay the implementation of programs in the light of the election ban on February 8.

“Ang daming projects na hindi mai-implement so we are looking of maybe six months no implementation of projects. Ang hirap naman n’un maraming umaasa.  Others, yung increase of pension of soldiers and policemen hahabulin namin matapos para sa kanila,” he said.

Senate Pro-Tempore Ralph Recto urged Malacañang to allow procurement in the first quarter of the year before the election ban.

“You have cash budgeting so if you bid it out after the ban, June or July paano mo matatapos in six months? It will affect the cash budgeting din, that’s why they want as much as possible to pass it this year so that you still have the first quarter to do procurement,” he said.

“Walang public consumption, walang government investment, puro election spending lang ‘yan, that will slow down the economy,” he added.

Senator Loren Legarda, finance committee chairperson, said she wanted the budget to be passed and to be signed by the President within the month of December to avoid a re-enactment even just for one month.

“Best efforts. There’s a timeline we are following and trying to the best of our ability to abide by the timeline. We will try whatever is physically feasible as long as there is no physical impossibility that we pass and finish it,” she said.

“Remember we only have three weeks left until December 12 and I am willing to work until December 19 to extend session if everyone agrees. I can’t do it alone. So if all senators agree,  we want to pass the budget by December if it is physically possible because of the transmittal of the GAB only last Monday,” she added.

The House of Representatives transmitted the proposed national budget to the Senate only on Monday.

Diokno said the senators told him they would talk with their counterpart at the House of Representatives for a possible change in the legislative calendar.

“I think they are planning of revising their schedule. Kasi doon sa original schedule nila mag aadjourn sila ng December 13 tapos magre-resume sila ng January 14. Hindi lang January, 14 pa. Bakit ang ordinary workers e January 2 papasok na tayo,” he told reporters.

Diokno expressed optimism the budget can be passed within the year if the Congress really wants it.

“I have passed 10 budgets in my lifetime so kayang kaya ‘yun kung gusto talaga. They have been conducting hearings since Day 1 so walang sacrifice diyan,” he told reporters.

He added the Senate can easily scrutinize the proposed budget.

“Madali mag-scrutinize, we do that all the time, ‘yung tinatawag naming statement of difference, we compare yung President’s budget with the House budget,” he said. —LDF, GMA News