(Eagle News) — House appropriations committee chair Rep. Rolando Andaya on Tuesday, March 5, said the House of Representatives was merely “itemizing” the appropriations under the national budget for 2019 approved by Congress to make them “more transparent and easy to scrutinize.”
Andaya, also the Camarines Sur representative, made the statement after Senator Panfilo Lacson accused Speaker Gloria Arroyo of realigning P25 million from the Department of Health fund to solons who voted for her as speaker in July last year even after the national budget ratification.
Lacson said those who were not Arroyo’s allies were allotted only P8 million.
“We believe that by detailing the items in the budget, by enumerating what will be funded, projects and programs, per agency and by district, will be clear and evident,” Andaya said, noting that there was no departure from the “approved specifications of the House-Senate approved budget” anyway.
In any case, according to Andaya, if the “procedure being undertaken by the House is illegal, then the Senate is equally guilty if on its part it had itemized the pet amendments on the budget by the senators.”
He added that neither the Senate President nor the Speaker were involved in the discussions in the bicameral committee.
“To clear the air, I suggest that the chair of the Senate Finance Committee and the House Appropriations Committee hold a joint press conference to identify each and every amendment made in the 2019 GAA (General Appropriations Act),” Andaya said.
Arroyo has denied the allegations of realignment, according to Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo, who spoke to her over the phone.
The Congress-approved national budget is awaiting President Rodrigo Duterte’s signature.