No pork, no corruption in 2020 budget bill, House leaders assure Lacson

Leaders of the House of Representatives on Monday welcomed Senator Panfilo Lacson's positive remarks on the 2020 budget bill deliberated and approved by the Lower Chamber.

In an interview with reporters, Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano thanked Lacson for saying that the current House roster is the "most behaved" so far for sticking to its word to keep the budget "pork-free."

Lacson said that the only changes he saw in the House-approved version of the budget bill was the P9.5-billion institutional amendments as announced by the leadership of the Lower Chamber.

"Nagpapasalamat tayo sa kanya na yung observation niya tumugma sa sinasabi natin from the start. Having said that, whether behaved o hindi ang isang institusyon, siguro tao na ang magju-judge niyan," Cayetano said.

"But remember, we're an ongoing collegial body. So thank you for a good comment but we have to work harder to make sure na relevant talaga yung budget," he added.

Cayetano assured Lacson and the public that even in their deliberations in the bicameral conference committee, there will be no parked funds, no pork and no corruption in the 2020 national budget.

For his part, Majority Leader Martin Romualdez welcomed Lacson's proposal to simply adopt the House's version of the budget bill.

"His proposal for the Senate to adopt the national budget that we approved is a step in the right direction. This bolsters our position that what we approved and transmitted to the Senate is a constitutionally compliant General Appropriations Bill," he said.

Romualdez maintained that the national budget the House approved reflects the vision not only of President Rodrigo Duterte for the country but also of the will of the Filipino people.

"The swift passage of the national budget that underwent scrutiny in the exercise of transparency, both by administration and opposition lawmakers, is a product of our commitment to help propel the country's economic growth under the leadership of President Duterte," he added. —LDF, GMA News