Bicam meetings on 2020 budget to continue despite weather —Ungab

The Senate and the House of Representatives will push through with their bicameral conference committee deliberations on the 2020 national budget despite the serious weather conditions brought by Typhoon Tisoy.

This was according to Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab, who chairs the House Committee on Appropriations.

According to Ungab, he will still meet with Senate finance committee chair Sonny Angara today as scheduled to discuss the disagreeing provisions on their respective versions of the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

"The House Appropriations Secretariat just finished studying yesterday the figures in Senate's GAB as approved on final reading. I presented these findings to the House Bicameral Conference Committee Panel and will proceed to discuss the details with my senate counterpart, Senator Angara," he said.

"Both chairmen will still have to go through the details and we still have to agree on the contentious figures. Nevertheless, both panels agree on the need to pass and approve the national budget before the Christmas break. We will be working this week despite the inclement weather," he added.

The bicameral conference committee on the 2020 national budget held its first meeting last Friday, only two days after the Senate approved its version of the GAB.

During the meeting, the panel agreed that the disagreeing provisions of the Senate and House version of approved proposed budget for 2020 will be settled between Ungab and Angara.

The Senate earlier announced the suspension of its sessions this week to make way for the bicameral meetings and the country's hosting of the 30th Southeast Asian Games.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives declared the suspension of work on Tuesday due to Typhoon Tisoy. — BM, GMA News