Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. says some lawmakers who are known critics of the Duterte administration will get P60 million in congressional allocation under the proposed 2019 National Expenditure Program.
‘‘All of them get [their congressional entitlements],” Andaya told reporters.
“It is up to them if they will utilize it or not.”
Andaya made his statement even as Senator Panfilo Lacson on Thursday insisted that the P60-million allocation for each member of the House of Representatives in next year’s proposed P3.75-trillion national budget was pork, and that a “blessed few” might get even more.
“They excised P20 billion from the proposed national budget and appropriated P60 M to each of their 297 members, probably more to a blessed few since a simple computation tells me there is an excess of P2.17 billion,” Lacson said in a text message to reporters.
“If that isn’t pork, tell me what is.”
Andaya made his statement in response to the claim of ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio that their group does not receive pork as their members do not ask for it.
“If they do not want to make use of such funds, then we will not force them to do so,” Andaya said.
He said the millions of pesos in congressional entitlements for each 297 lawmakers were intended for a specific purpose, and did not require post- enactment interventions by congressmen.
He said the House leadership under Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was observing the “underlying principle” that “no district will be left behind,” and so “all will get a piece of the pie.”
Andaya said congressmen were duly elected representatives of the people.
“The people vote for them because they trust them. So that was the reason there was an equitable distribution of funding for each legislative district. And it’s not to the congressmen.”