Lacson: House's P20-B 'small group' amendments may not be presumed regular

The P20 billion worth of amendments that a small group in the House of Representatives made after the plenary gave final approval to the P4.5-trillion General Appropriations Bill for 2021 may not be given presumption of regularity, Senator Panfilo Lacson said on Thursday.

Lacson made the remark even after Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Committee on Finance chairman Senator Sonny Angara said the small group's amendments may be given a presumption of regularity despite a constitutional prohibition on amendments made after a measure has been approved.

"To say there’s presumption of regularity, I think it’s misplaced. If that is the output of the small committee and they will include these amendments in the USB drive they will transmit to us on October 28, then we cannot presume regularity, with all due respect to my Senate President," Lacson said in an interview on ANC.

"Because if it is based on an unconstitutional act, I cannot presume regularity," he added.

The senator has repeatedly said that any amendment after the third reading approval of a bill went against Article VI, Section 26

Sotto earlier said these amendments were acceptable if the congressmen agreed, before they voted in the plenary, that they would be made.

"If they manifested to do that before they approved on third reading, subject to style, then it's possible. It means they approved it in principle," Sotto said.

Lacson reiterated that the infirmities of the budget bill approved by the House could be remedied by the Senate.

"That can easily be remedied or cured by the Senate version and eventually ang bicameral conference namin. Hindi pa puwedeng i-declare unconstitutional ang 2021 General Appropriations Act kasi wala pa naman tayong naipapasang batas," he said. -NB, GMA News