Arroyo denies ‘manipulating’ budget bicam report: Palace

FILE: NO 2019 BUDGET BICAM MANIPULATION. Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo speaks to House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo over the phone regarding allegations of Senator Panfilo Lacson that she manipulated ratified bicameral committee report on the 2019 national budget. The former president denied the allegations. (PNA photo by Azer Parrocha)

MANILA — House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo denied Senator Panfilo Lacson’s claim that she allegedly “manipulated” the ratified bicameral committee report on the proposed PHP 3.757-trillion budget for 2019, Malacañang said on Tuesday.

Speaking to Arroyo over the phone, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador cited Arroyo as saying that she did not introduce changes on the ratified bicameral report prior to the printing and enrollment of the budget measure, contrary to Lacson’s claim.

“According to Speaker Arroyo, as far as she knows, whatever was approved in the bicam is now the one being printed for submission to the Executive,” Panelo told reporters in a chance interview after the regular Palace briefing.

“Wala daw nabago doon sa bicam. Eh kung from what she says yun yung pini-print, eh di yun na ‘yun (Nothing changed in the bicam report. From what she says, that’s what’s being printed, then that’s it),” he added.

Panelo emphasized that Arroyo also assured him that the ratified bicameral report which Lacson did not have issues with, is what is currently being printed and will be transmitted to President Rodrigo R. Duterte for his signature.

Lacson earlier said the proposed 2019 national budget is likely doomed after Arroyo allegedly “manipulated” its ratified bicameral committee report.

“The 2019 national budget is doomed, but not to our own liking. I will raise a big legal issue before my colleagues in the Upper House out of this latest scheme that our Lower House counterparts led by their Speaker are resorting to in order to manipulate the ratified bicameral committee report,” Lacson said.

Lacson noted that Arroyo prepared and imposed a “menu list” of the Department of Health’s budget for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) worth PHP25 million in individual allocations for her “favored congressmen”, including a PHP2.5 million allocation for the purchase of an ambulance.

He further noted that those who did not support Arroyo’s election as Speaker will only receive PHP8 million each.

“Exercising this latest brazen, illegal act after the bicameral committee report has been adopted and ratified by both houses smacks of grave abuse of discretion on the part of Speaker Arroyo,” he said.

He said Arroyo’s move is a clear violation of the 1987 Constitution, which states that “upon the last reading of a bill, no amendment thereto shall be allowed.”

“I maintain, and I trust that majority of my colleagues in the Senate will agree, that such realignments ordered by Speaker Arroyo prior to the printing of the proposed 2019 budget is clearly unconstitutional and inappropriate,” he said.

“Needless to say and it is basis in our legislative process that the House as a body has the sole power to make the amendments, not the Speaker, and certainly not after the ratification of the bicameral report,” he added.

Both the House and Senate ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the 2019 national budget on Feb. 8 before going into a congressional break for the May mid-term polls.

The government has been operating on a reenacted budget since January 1 after lawmakers failed to pass the spending bill last year due to allegations of pork “insertions”.