Daily Tribune, Mar. 27, 2019, Virtuous Budget For Rody.pdf

ous Deadlac,k defused The President'!aid he will not sign anYthing illegal, an;'thing uiconsiitutionat as far as he is concerned Mallari 8y lcistina Maralit and Mario J' The'twb houses of Congress broke iheir i*tr.t" on lhis year's naliOnat budget wilh

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ffi;irh i;;;i;

tigning congress' version' pr"esiaenr

ili'"[r.*i"e . tiir" items. r

!icenre "rito"

reservalions on several

ff,L nropos"o pl.?-lrillion nadOnal budgel ,-ZOf6 wirf be scrulinized by Presidenl

iloafno Out"tt", houever, and Malacanang

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onJy a clean' lau{u-t budget

Chief Dxecutive's ink'

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'Viri'uous budge-t for

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If he feels that it is not in violation of the Constitution, he wiII sign it immediately r

kut Wcl ihe ball is in the hands of the President,' he added, Once the budget is

transmitted

to the Office of the President, the Chief nxecutive, according io Panelo, will review the proposed expenditue '\rithin a few da1s.' "Ifuowing the President, he will act on it immediaiely because we need a new budget," he said. The national goYernment has. been operating on a reenacted budgei since the start of the year

Committee and ratified by both houses of Congress,' Sotto said'

Thc proposed P3.?-trillion national budget for 2019 will be scrutinized by President Rorlrigo Duterte.

'It is my view thai it

Now, the ball is in the ha.nds of the President. Panelo said Mr. Duterte will pwiew the proposed expenditures .within a few days' and decide

now f€els safe because I suppose Senator Drilon will volunteer t0 be his lffiyer if he (Sotto) is chaxged,'

Larson sha,red. Drilon said the signing of the

measure "wiih r€se,rvations"

indicated that the Senaie minority bloc is one with the m4joritYwhen national interest is at stake. nThe compromisd soluiion we have prcposed is Proof while we belong to political persuasions in

longer belabor the socalled 98 percent of the budget. We are questioning two to three percent of the budget, so might as well approve and have it enacted as the 2019 brrdget,t" Sotto stressed. Laeson said the House was aware of the Senate move as he informed San Juan Rep. Ronnie

the Senate, we are united for the interest of the countryn Drilon said,

He stressed the Senate

Zamora Monday niSht after a me€ting with some senators who agreed on signing the measure with reservatiqns on the I{ouse

maintained its p0sition even after Sotto signed the House vercion of the

budget.

realignments.

'The letter of the Senate

't

Pre€ideR! is persuasive. In the final analysis, the President will

is

not,' Lacson said.

worth of programs/proj ects under the local infrastncture

Knowing the President, he

program ofthe DP\I/H was funded

because we need a new

through internal realignments, after the Bicameral Conference Comrnittee repoft was ratified

budget.

I

made by Sotto were upon the

0rganization Outcome 1 is

possible legal questions in the future by maintaining that the enrolled budget bill contained unconstitutional entdes.

further said.

.The President said he will

composed of asset preservation program, network development

not sign anlthing ilegal, anlthing unconstitutional as far as he is concerned. He will haye to elaluate

irnd bridge programs while Organizational 0utcome 2 includes flood mana.gement

if the opinion of

the Senate is indeed conect,o the 'official stressed.

programs and convergence and .

He said the annotations

and 2,' he

Organizdtional Outcome 0rganizational Outcome

Constitution. "

will act on it irnnediately

support programs

-

both of

DPWI1.

"The President may wish to consider disapfroving these unconstitutional realignments, pursuant to his constitutional power to veto particular items in

the general appropriations bill," Sotto said.

advice of Drilon to protect the Senate President from

'Ihis (signing with reser%tions) proposal originally cam€ from

.

,*rst

ffieAot/fl{ Nedsr

R)

still decide',vhether to veto or

by realigning cuts from the

consistent with the

immediately," he said.

the minority leader (Drilon). Of course, the Senate President

unconstiqutional that P?5 billion

works.

by the President. If he feels that it is not in Yiolation of the Constitution, he will sign it

l

' 'I affixed my signature with strong reservations. My attestation is limited only to those items approved by the Bicameral Conference

billion realignment for public

Ever]'thing will be considered

bilion

unodnstitutional.

provisions withi4 the spending plan, including the aleged P?t

not.

Sotto, however, stressed that the Senate did'not succumb to pressure in signing the budget measure. "I am just saying that to no

Wgrks and Ilighways (DPWH) are.

accusations of realignments and "insertiors' on the budget. In his leiter, Sotto said he signed the proposed budget "with reserYations' and appealed to the Chief Executive to exercise his veto power over uunconstitutional"

it's unconstitutional or

realigments,

lYanktin Drilon and Sen. Panfilo

realignments made bY some House leaders on the builget .ai -the Depadment of Public

Their leaders traded

respect to the President whether

Miguel Zubiri, Minority Leader

maintained that the P76

General Appropriations Bill.

"It's still the President's call. Whatever.the opinion of the Ilouse, it will not matter with

a list of programs funded by the P?5 billion alleged Ilouse

The Senate President

initia y lailed to find common ground for the passage of the

whether or not

proposed national budget in the presence of Mqiority Lea.der Jgan

Lacson.

when both houses of Congress

"if it's

The Senate submitted

Sotto disclosed signing the

budget. They have done ihat. Noq