Ex-Speaker Alvarez says P5-B budget allotment not a congressional insertion

The P5 billion allotted to infrastructure projects in his district, under the proposed P3.757- trillion national budget for 2019, is not a congressional insertion, former Speaker and Davao del Norte Representatives Pantaleon Alvarez, said Wednesday.

Alvarez said the allotment was given under the National Expenditure Program (NEP) or the proposed national budget submitted by the President to the House of Representatives. As such, the amount was not due to his decision but under the Department of Budget and Management and economic managers’ discretion.

“Ang NEP, ang executive branch po ng government ang gumagawa niyan. Wala pong partisipasyon ang Kongreso diyan. Kaya nagtataka ako bakit ako napasama diyan, na gumawa ako ng insertion. Hindi insertion ‘yan kasi galing ‘yan sa NEP. Hindi kasama ang Kongreso sa pag-prepare ng NEP,” Alvarez said in an interview on GMA News’ “News to Go.”

House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya of Camarines Sur has claimed that the previous House leadership led by Alvarez was favored under the proposed 2019 national budget, not Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Andaya.

Senator Panfilo Lacson has accused Arroyo and Andaya of inserting P2.4 billion and P1.9 billion of government projects, respectively, for their districts.

“Simula noong SONA, hindi na ako pumapasok sa House. I have never attended a single budget hearing. Pwedeng kasama sa priority projects ng administrasyon [ang napunta sa distrito ko],” Alvarez noted.

“Kung totoo man na meron ngang budget na ganyan sa aking distrito, maraming salamat. I haven’t seen the NEP kaya ‘di ko alam kung anong meron ako ... roon,” he said.

The controversy stirred by Lacson’s claims kept Alvarez from calling for the allotment to be deleted.

“‘Di naman po ako ang naglagay niyan sa NEP. Executive branch ‘yun. ‘Di po ako ang naglagay niyan kaya wala rin akong karaparatang magpatanggal niyan,” he said.

During a House leadership coup that installed Arroyo as Speaker of the House with at least 161 votes, Alvarez was ousted as Speaker before President Rodrigo Duterte delivered his State of the Nation Address on July 24.

His ouster came after he made what turned out to be his last speech during the opening session. In his speech, Alvarez called for the passage of Charter change that would lift the term limits of lawmakers.

Six months before his ouster, Alvarez had a dispute with presidential daughter and Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte Carpio.

Sara accused Alvarez of bragging that he could oust the President in his capacity as House Speaker and telling people that the mayor’s regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago, is an opposition party. She also called him an asshole.

Alvarez denied the allegations. —VDS, GMA News