(Eagle News)—-President Rodrigo Duterte said the 2019 General Appropriations Act is a “reflection of our vision for the Philippines and the Filipino people.”
Duterte gave this message as he signed the budget bill into law but vetoed P95.3 million worth of items which the Senate had described as “illegal alignments” made by the House.
In his message, Duterte emphasized that “the hard-earned money of our people must be used to improve the condition of our country and their overall welfare.”
He said he would not tolerate corruption in his administration.
“Our positions should never be used for personal gain; otherwise, we are not worthy of the offices we hold,” Duterte said.
Other vetoed provisions
Aside from items included in the Department of Public Works and Highways budget, the President vetoed the following provisions:
- “Use of income” under the Department of Labor and Employment-National Labor Relations Commission
- Special provisions on the implementation of projects by the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Department of Trade and Industry on allocations to local government units (LGUs)-special shares of LGU in the proceeds of national taxes, shares in tobacco excise taxes from locally-manufactured Virginia-type cigarettes and Burley and native tobacco products
- Assistance to municipalities and cities under the Local Government Support Fund in so far as the use of the fund for maternal and child health projects
- Provision that will reduce the mandated allocation of internal revenue allotment shares of LGUs, thus impairing the constitutional prescription on equitable IRA shares of LGUs in national taxes
- Provision that effectively removes the inherent authority of the concerned agencies to assess reasonable fees in the provision of services in connection with the retention or reacquisition of Philippine citizenship
- Provision on special work permit under the Department of Justice-Bureau of Immigration
- Provision on allowing the use of the calamity fund for the relief, recovery, reconstruction and other work or services in connection with natural or human induced calamities which occurred more than two years from the budget year.
- Unprogrammed appropriations under the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Fund as a result of the veto of the bill seeking to strengthen the Philippine Coconut Authority
- Provisions on special road support fund, special local road fund and special vehicle pollution control fund under the DPWH. These are reportedly no longer relevant following the passage of the law that abolished the Road Board.
- Provision on prohibitions against the use of unprogrammed appropriations by the Office of the President as it limits the power of the President, as chief architect of foreign policy, to enter into loan agreements consistent with Section 20, Article VII of the 1987 Constitution
- “Authorized Deductions” under general provisions which include obligations to financing and other similar entities that have authority to engage in lending and mutual benefits
- “Impoundment of Appropriations” under general provisions which provides that the inaction of Congress within 30 days from receipt of an impoundment proposal is considered disapproval
Duterte also subjected several provisions to conditional implementation to ensure conformity with existing laws.
“As we are nearing the end of the first half of this administration, I believe we have come a long way in instilling a culture of action within the government,” he said.
“…We have shown our people that when action is paired with strong political will, we can truly deliver on our promises,” Duterte added.