(Eagle News)—President Rodrigo Duterte on Monday, March 11, said he would not sign an “illegal document,” following Senator Panfilo Lacson’s allegations the House of Representatives manipulated the proposed national budget even after it was ratified by both houses of Congress.
Duterte made the remark as he railed against what he said were the bad effects of a continued use of a reenacted budget at an event in the Palace.
“Magkaroon tayo ng slide sa GDP [gross domestic product] niyan if we are going to reenact the budget and everybody will suffer including law enforcement,” he said.
In their defense, House appropriations chair Rolando Andaya Jr. said they were merely “itemizing” the proposed budget so it would be easier to analyze.
Lacson has said Senate President Tito Sotto would not sign the budget bill if the House insists on its “insertions” supposedly in favor of Speaker Gloria Arroyo’s allies.
He said this means the country will have to work on a reenacted budget until August, after Arroyo’s term expires in June.