Congress to try to ratify 2019 budget Wednesday: Andaya

February 3, 2019

Congress will try to ratify this year’s P3.757-trillion national budget with lawmakers’ agreement to itemize all the P200-billion insertions before adjourning this week for the 2019 election campaign.

“We agreed to ratify the national budget this Wednesday,” said  Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., chair of the House committee on appropriations and head of the House contingent in the bicameral conference committee,  in a statement Sunday.

The bicameral committee decided last Wednesday to cap of lawmakers’ realignments at P200-billion from initial P50-billion with an agreement to disclose their respective amendments.

Andaya said the bicam has been working on the source or identification of the P200-billion realignments in the national budget and beneficiaries of the adjustments.

Earlier, Andaya disclosed the Senate made P190-billion insertions compared to the P51-billion of the House of Representatives.

On Saturday, House Majority Leader and Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro said Sen. Panfilo  Lacson who introduced P50-billion institutional amendments into the 2019 budget should itemize the so-called insertions.

Castro said Lacson had refused to call it pork barrel or insertion but "institutional amendments".

Lacson said the amount will go to the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, but Castro said he has yet to furnish details. DMS