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'Constitutionally infirm' House amendments in budget can be remedied in Senate —Lacson
By DONA MAGSINO, GMA NewsSenator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday said the post-third reading amendments introduced by the House of Representatives to the P4.5-trillion budget bill can still be remedied when the same is transmitted to the Senate.
"Regardless of the constitutional infirmities involved, we can remedy it anyway by formalizing those flawed and constitutionally infirm amendments by the House when the Senate approves our own version of the budget measure all the way to the bicameral conference," Lacson said in a message to GMA News Online.
On Monday, Albay Representative Joey Salceda, a member of the House's small committee, said P20 billion-worth of "institutional amendments"
were introduced to the budget bill after it has been approved on third and final reading.The amendments include additional P5.5 billion for COVID-19 vaccines; P4 billion for the Department of Labor and Employment to aid displaced workers; P1.7 billion for the Department of Education to provide the internet needs for online classes; P2 billion for the Department of the Interior and Local Government for mobility assets of the police; and P2 billion for pandemic assistance to affected families, among others.
Lacson has repeatedly said that any changes made after the third reading goes against the Constitution.
In an interview on CNN Philippines Tuesday, the senator said Article VI, Section 26 of the Constitution prohibits institutional amendment after the final reading of any bill.
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“It's a matter of the Constitution prohibiting it because Section 26 of the Constitution is very clear: No amendment should be allowed after the final reading of any bill,” he said.
“It is unconstitutional,” he added.
Nonetheless, the senator said he would support the "institutional" amendments that were made to augment the budget for COVID-19 vaccines and the assistance to workers who lost their jobs.
"Without admitting the regularity and even the constitutionality of the post third reading 'institutional amendments' by the House as mentioned, I will definitely support and might even further augment the proposed amendments for the COVID-19 vaccines and the aid to displaced workers," Lacson said.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III and Senate finance committee chairperson Sonny Angara said they presume regularity in the institutional amendments made by their counterparts in the co-equal House.—with Joviland Rita/AOL, GMA News