House spox denies Tiangco's claim vs Romualdez on supposed aid program 'interventions'

House spokesperson Princess Abante on Tuesday denied accusations made by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco agains House Speaker Martin Romualdez of supposedly "intervening" in the distribution of the government’s aid programs.

This, after Tiangco claimed that the Speaker's "intervention" starts with the formation of a small committee that gathers suggested amendments after the House approves the proposed national budget on second reading.

“Why do you want it submitted before a small committee [after second approval]? Hawak ng Office of the Speaker iyong AICS (Assistance to Individuals in Crisis Situations). Puede nila i-review... We each give our suggested amendments to the small committee for AICS, TUPAD. That is not allowed because under a Supreme Court decision, once the budget is passed, Congress cannot intervene,” Tiangco said. 

Tiangco also said that House members who join the Bagong Pilipinas Serbisyo Fair (BPSF), wherein government services are brought to the provinces, receive government aid allocations worth P7 million for AICS, P7 million for medical assistance for indigent patients, and P7 million for TUPAD or aid for those who lost jobs.

“Sinong congressman ang makikipagtalo sa akin na hindi totoo ‘yan, pakitaan kami ng cellphone. May message ‘yan. Totoo iyon eh. Alam ko kasi nabigyan ako nung pumunta ako," Tiangco said.

(I dare a House member to contest my claim. Let’s show our mobile phones. There’s a text message for that. I am telling the truth, and I know about it because I got one myself.)

Asked why he was flagging it just now given that he was allied with Romualdez during the 19th Congress, Tiangco said, “When you are in the majority [bloc], you have to toe the line.” 

'Baseless'

In a separate interview, House spokesperson Princess Abante dismissed Tiangco’s claims as baseless.

“Alam niya po na hindi po totoo na ang Speaker ang may hawak sa mga pondo ng mga iba't ibang departamento. The departments are custodians of their allocation, and they decide how to disburse it,” Abante told reporters.

(Congressman Tiangco knows that the Speaker is not the keeper of the government agencies’ funds. )

Likewise, Abante said the small committee is a legal mechanism where the House members can submit their proposed amendments to the budget for consideration, not a guarantee of inclusion.

“The small committee is a mechanism for efficient consolidation of the individual amendments of House members, which is well within the powers of the House of Representatives in the budget process,” Abante said.

Still, Abante said Tiangco is free to make a motion to abolish the small committee if he sees fit.

A motion needs a majority vote to be carried and adopted by the House.

“If he sees a small committee as an inappropriate measure, then he can make the appropriate motion in the plenary,” Abante said.

In closing, Abante questioned why Tiangco suddenly found the small committee irregular just now when it has been a longstanding practice of Congress.

“He has been a House member for many terms already, and he is only saying these things now. He can only speak as to why that is,” Abante added. —VAL, GMA Integrated News