MANILA – The issues hounding the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019 only shows that the government has failed to lay it out properly even at the executive level, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said on Sunday.
Drilon made the remark after the Senate failed to approve the proposed budget before Congress went on a break for the Christmas season.
In a Super Radyo dzBB interview, Drilon said the issues in the national budget rooted from Malacañang having allowed the supposed insertions to occur.
“Tama ‘yan, may problema na. Ito ay bagong pamamaraan. Dati kasi ang pamamaraan ay may isang buo na PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) at doon kumukuha ng pondo para sa iba’t ibang projects,” Drilon said.
“Noong sinabi [ng Supreme Court] na ito ay bawal, ang nangyayari ngayon, pagdating ng National Expenditure Program sa Kongreso ay meron nang nakasaksak,” he added.
During the Question Hour at the House of Representatives last week, Budget secretary Benjamin Diokno said that P75 billion was inserted to the 2019 allocation for the Department of Public Works and Highways, not P51 billion as was previously known.
While Diokno said these were not illegal insertions, House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya said the DPWH did not know about these funds, and that President Rodrigo Duterte “has nothing to do with it.”
Drilon said Diokno should be able to explain this issue.
“Ipaliwanag nila kung para saan ito, at bakit hindi alam. Ibig sabihin, hindi alam ng ahensiya kung saan nilagay ‘yung budget,” he said.
Meanwhile, Sen. Panfilo Lacson recently revealed a new scheme where a staffer of a senator offers portions of his “parked pork” to a congressman.
Lacson said this was part of a supposedly new scheme where lawmakers earn “commissions” by “parking their pork barrel” in a legislative district of a “well-connected” member of the House of Representatives.
Drilon admitted that while he has heard of his supposed scheme before, it was only now that it really blew up
“Hindi tama ito, hindi tama na paraan,” Drilon said. “Aming hinihiling kay Senator Lacson, lahat ng aming mga staff ay magiging suspect na lahat. Mabuti siguro sabihin na ni Senator Lacson kung sino ito.”
Senate President Vicente Sotto III echoed Drilon’s call on Lacson, saying: “Kailangan malaman kung sino ang staffer na ‘yun. Kung ako ang senador at ganyan ang staffer ko, mabilis pa sa alas-kwarto sinisipa ko na habang hindi pa nakakagawa ng kababalaghan.”
Drilon is expecting that the proposed national budget will be approved at the Senate on the first week of the resumption of the session in January.
Both houses of Congress will resume session on Jan. 14 next year. (GMA News)
