Senate suspends budget debates after Lorenzana gets COVID-19

The Senate has suspended plenary debates on the 2022 budget bill scheduled for Thursday, November 18, after Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana tested positive for COVID-19 anew.

"We have no sessions tomorrow. Unfortunately, we have to close shop. The secretariat will sanitize the premises,"  Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said before ending the plenary debates on the 2022 proposed budget.

He, likewise, encouraged those who were physically at the plenary debates on Tuesday, November 16 to stay at home and isolate for five days. He also hoped that no one would test positive for the virus.

The Senate was supposed to tackle on Thursday the proposed 2022 budget of the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Department of Education.

Senate will continue the budget debates on Monday, November 22, Zubiri said.

Prior to this, during the plenary debates on the 2022 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), Zubiri informed his colleagues that Lorenzana contracted the respiratory disease.

Lorenzana was in the Senate on Tuesday as the senators debated on the proposed funding for the Department of National Defense (DND).

“This year, unfortunately, we found out today through the Sergeant-at-Arms that the good secretary of the [DND] is positive and so we were quite exposed yesterday to the good secretary as he was defending the budget together with again Sen. [Ronald] Dela Rosa. So let’s hope that Sen. Dela Rosa has some antibodies,” he said in the plenary.

Zubiri asked the Senate staff, the secretariat, and those in contact with Lorenzana yesterday to get tested after five days.

“This has implications, Mr. President to our deliberation of the budget this week. So let’s continue, let’s finish the budgets that are here this evening so we can continue with the budget deliberation, but tomorrow we may have to rethink our proposal to discuss the budget,” he said.

“Actually Mr. President, the proper protocol since we were exposed to Sec. Del yesterday, we must quarantine until Sunday, testing five days [after] tapos kapag lumabas po na negative tayo, we can go back to work on Monday,” he added.

Apart from the senators and their staff members, Zubiri said the Hungarian delegation, who visited the Senate on Tuesday, was also exposed.

Meanwhile, Senate President Vicente Sotto III had asked the Inter-Agency Task Force to review its guidelines on quarantine protocols

He made the call after he expressed frustration that the 2022 budget deliberations could be delayed after Lorenzana contracted the disease.

"Even if you are a Pope, if you came from a non-green country, you stay home for 10 days or 14 days whatever the protocol of IATF is," said Sotto.

"The meeting of IATF and DOH [Department of Health] tomorrow must take note of this. Higpitan ninyo [Tighten restrictions] even if he is the president or vice president of the Philippines," the Senate leader added.

Sotto further said they will require those entering the Senate to submit negative RT-PCR test results that were taken within 24 hours.

Lorenzana visited Poland from November 6 to 13 following an invitation from Polish Minister of National Defence Mariusz Blaszczak. 

During this time, Poland still belonged to the IATF's green list of countries until November 15, which means travelers must present a negative RT-PCR test result taken 72 hours before departure. Upon arrival, travelers must undergo home quarantine for 14 days.

But in a recent IATF directive, Poland was placed under the yellow list from November 16 to 30. 

This is the second time Lorenzana has tested positive for COVID-19. He was first diagnosed with the illness in April.

Pacquiao: Guard budget from corruption

Senator Manny Pacquiao, a presidential aspirant, warned the increase in the budget could only result in more money for corruption.

Pacquiao made the statement after citing that the government's budget was raised but income is still low.

"Ngayong 2022, the proposed budget is P5 trillion... Last year  P4.5 trillion ang approved budget natin pero ang income ng gobyerno, P2.9 trillion lang. Pero ngayon, tumaas ang gastos, 'yung income lalong bumaba kasi maraming nagsarado na mga businesses," Pacquiao said in an event in Bulacan.

(For 2022, the proposed budget is P5 trillion... Last year, the budget was P4.5 trillion but the government income was only at P2.9 trillion. But now, our expenses are high but income is still low because many businesses were closed.)

"Maswerte na tayo kung aabot ng P2.5 trillion ang income ngayon pero ang budget lalo pang tumaas. So bakit tayo pumayag ng ganyan? Akala ko mayaman ang bansa natin? Bakit ganoon? Gusto nila malaki ang budget para marami silang nanakawin," the senator added.

(We are lucky if our income will reach P2.5 trillion but the budget is still high. Why are we allowing this? I thought the Philippines was rich? They want to have a big budget so that they can steal more from our funds.)

If he wins the presidency, Pacquiao also vowed to jail corrupt government officials.

"Ito po ang priority ko, ipakulong ang lahat ng kawatan diyan sa gobyerno. We will make another history not inside the ring, not inside the boxing ring but outside the boxing ring—in politics," he said.

(This is my priority, I will detain all these corrupt officials in the government.)

GMA News Online asked Palace's reaction to Pacquiao's latest allegations but has yet to receive a reply, as of this posting. —LDF/BM, GMA News