House begins plenary deliberations on proposed P4.1-T budget bill for 2020

The House of Representatives on Tuesday began the plenary deliberations on the bill providing for the proposed P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020.

The chamber called its daily plenary session early on Tuesday to make way for the marathon debates on House Bill 4228, or the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

House Committee on Appropriations chair Isidro Ungab principally sponsored the 2020 GAB, whose committee report his panel approved only a day earlier.

In his sponsorship speech, Ungab said the 2020 GAB is a "faithful replica" of the 2020 National Expenditure Program earlier approved by President Rodrigo Duterte and the Cabinet.

"We are aware that the General Appropriations Bill is a legislative measure so crucial that no other matter is considered in detail other than how the income and revenues collected must be returned to the people through the national budget," he said.

"For that is what appropriations is all about: the flowing back of the revenues  to our constituents in order to genuinely and effectively address poverty and inequality," he added.

Among the priority programs under the 2020 budget are infrastructure development and the implementation of new and critical government programs and policies such as the Universal Health Care Act, the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the Rice Tariffication Act, the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Programs Act, and the Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Act.

Other priority programs to be funded under next year’s appropriations include the K-12 program, the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, the Unconditional Cash Transfer Program, the Risk Resiliency Program, and the Coastal Resource Management Program.

Prior to commencing the plenary deliberations on the budget, members of the majority bloc at the House held a caucus to discuss the procedure they will undertake during the debates.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano told the media following the majority caucus that the chamber will hold its session from 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day and will try to deliberate the budget of at least two major government agencies each day.

"We'll start at 1 p.m., then [end at] around 4 p.m. Possibly we won't finish at 9 p.m., but we'll see in the next two days. We'll adjust by Monday kung hindi maganda ang takbo tomorrow until Friday. Kung maganda ang takbo, then we'll do it this way," he said.

At the same time, the chamber will limit the questions on the floor to those only related to the budget, Cayetano said.

"Remember what questions are for the budget, and what questions are for the regular committee," he said.

"We're just asking the chairmen ng appropriations [committee] and chairmen ng committee [involved] to be in sync. So kung ano man ang hindi matapos na questioning at discussion sa floor, ituloy sa committee, kaya tayo may committee system," he added.

The chamber is aiming to finish the budget plenary deliberations on September 20 and approve the 2020 GAB on final reading by October 4, before Congress goes on a month-long break. — BM, GMA News