Early suspension of House session won’t derail passage of 2021 nat’l budget — Palace

Malacañang on Wednesday expressed confidence that the proposed 2021 national budget will be passed before the end of year despite the decision of congressmen on Tuesday to suspend the session without approving their final version of the spending bill.

Speaking to CNN-Philippines, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Senate could proceed with its deliberations of the proposed P4.506-trillion budget while awaiting the copy of the House version, which is expected to be passed on final reading on November 16.

“I don’t think it will have any effect on passing the budget on time because they have passed it on second reading,” he said.

“For all intents and purposes the budget has been approved in the House because on third and final reading you can no longer move for amendments. That’s already the final version of the House bill. It’s either you vote for or against the measure,” Roque added.

On Tuesday, the House approved the bill on second reading and decided to suspend its session until November 16.

Senate President Vicente Sotto III earlier said the suspension of session in the House of Representatives until November 16 may delay the passage of the budget.

He said there was “no way” for the senators to pass the spending bill on time if it is not submitted to them “before the mandated break after October 14.”

However, Roque said there is “no requirement that the Senate must wait for the approval on third and final reading.”

“I think everyone is just playing safe,” he added.

“It is enough that the budget has originated from the House and I think the fact that it has been approved on second reading it is enough for the Senate to proceed with its own deliberations of the budget on the basis of the NEP [National Expenditure Program] although they will still have to await the final copy of the House bill before they can themselves approve it.”

In a separate statement, Roque said the Senate has enough time to scrutinize the proposed national budget.

“We are confident that the Senate has enough time to finish its deliberations and there should be no reason for delay. There is plenty of time between now and November 16 for committee deliberations to continue and come November there will be enough time for plenary deliberations in the Senate,” he said.

The Palace has said President Rodrigo Duterte wants the budget bill to be passed before the end of 2020.

Next year’s budget is expected to fund measures aimed at improving the country’s healthcare system, ensuring food security, increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure and helping communities cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is the first budget that has built-in measures intended to respond to COVID-19. This is probably the most important budget that the President has proposed to both houses of Congress,” Roque said. — RSJ, GMA News