itusinessilIirnDr
w"dn"raur, March 6, 2ol9
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Lacson laments budget
bill tinke but House
appro chiddefends GMA
ft EN. Panfilo Lacson. vowing
\to raise
big legal issue,'on
a cilities EnhancemenL Progran
Lf Tuesday decried last-minute
tinkering of the 2019 budget bill
even after the final version of the
annualmoneymeasure had already
been ratified by both the Senate
and the House of Representatives,
"The 2019 national budget is
doomed, but not to our own lik-
ing," Lacson lamented, vowing
to challenge its legality. "I will
raise a big legal issue before my
colJeagues in th€ Upper House
out of this latest scheme that our
LowerHouse counterparts led by
their Speaker lGloria Arroyol is
resorting to, in order to ma-
nipulate the ratified bicameral
committee report."
1n a statement, Lacson reported
that based on information shared
by several members of the House
of Representatives themselves, he
intends to question "other manip-
ulations being undertaken by the
House leadership on the ratified
bicameralreport prior to the print-
ing and enrollment of the budget
measure."
The leadership of the House of
Representatives denied the allega-
tion that Arroyo is manipulating
the bicameral report on the pro-
posed P3.757-trillion General Ap-
propriations Act (GAA), saying the
two chambers followthe samerules
and procedures in crafting
national budget.
House Committee on Appro-
priations Chairman Rolando An-
daya Jr., in a statement, reminded
Lacson that the proposedbudgetis
a product of both the Senate and
the House of Representatives.
Lacson asserted that "Speaker
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has no
business or legal authority to
prepare and impose the menu
list of the Department of Health
\\
appropriations for Health Fa-
IHFEP] worLh P25 million in in-
dividual allocations for her fa-
lrored colgressmen, including a
P2.5-million allocation for the
purchase of an ambulance; while
only P8 million are beinf dlstrib-
uted to those who did not suppo rt
her election as Speaker."
Worse, Lacson added, "exercis-
ing this latest brazen, illegal act
afterthe bicameral commit tee re-
port has been adopted and ratified
by both houses smacks of grave
abuse of discretion on the part
of Speaker Arroyo, not to men-
tion a clear violation of the 1987
Constitution, specifically Art VI
Sec 26 paragraph 2, whi(h states
-thu#.:Upon the last reading of a
bill, no amendment thereto shall
be allowed..."
Lacson continued: "l ma intain,
and I trust that majority of my col-
leagues in the Senate will agree,
that such realignments ordered by
Speaker Arroyo prior to Lhe prin t-
ing of the proposed 2019 budget
fare] clearly unconstitutional and
inappropriate."
Andaya's rebuke
ANDAYA took on Lacson s allega-
tions: "II the procedure being un-
dertaken by the House is illegal,
then the Senate is equally guilty
the if on its part it had itemized the
pet amendments on the budget by
the senators."
According to Andaya, "The
House ls itemizing the a ppropria-
t ions therein. fleshjngout lump-
sum funds, without departing
ftom the approved specifications
of the House-Senate approved
budget, and by so doing make
the budget more transparent and
easy to scrutinize." But& Fenandez
ond lovee Mo e N. Delo Ctuz
ror\eg-Agl