"That's what all House members should strive foróand it's about time."
"That's what all House members should strive foróand it's about time."
Will the 2020 national budget be the “cleanest,” that is, free from pork barrel and fund insertions by lawmakers?
That distinct possibility looms as Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano is keeping a close watch on the proposed national budget for next year. He wants the first General Appropriations Bill on his watch to remain pork-free, and untainted by what President Rodrigo Duterte has described as “even a whiff of corruption.”
Cayetano has given ironclad assurances that no illegal insertions will taint the 2020 GAB. No suspicious lump sums will be “parked” in the budget as was the disgraceful practice in the past. He has pledged to ensure the swift approval of a national budget that is “constitutional, legal, transparent and accountable.”
The Speaker showed his genuine commitment to a clean budget when during the briefing on the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways by the House appropriations committee, he asked DPWH Secretary Mark Villar point blank if there was any pork hidden or “parked” in the agency’s budget. Villar assured the Speaker that there was no pork and no “parking” in the DPWH budget.
Cayetano also secured a pledge from House leaders that the budget would be scrutinized with a fine-tooth comb but would not be delayed. “Pork and parking have no place in the 2020 budget,” he said. Allegations of pork barrel insertions and the “parking” of funds or lump sums allocated in congressional districts without any specific use, hounded and eventually delayed the approval of the 2019 GAB, resulting in the government operating in a reenacted budget in the first quarter of this year.
The delay in the passage of the 2019 GAB slowed down economic growth in the first quarter, as the government was constrained from spending around P1 billion a day under a reenacted budget.
When the 2019 General Appropriations Act was finally signed into law by the President in April, he vetoed P95.37 billion worth of projects in the DPWH budget and emphasized in his veto message that he “will not tolerate corruption in my administration.”
Cayetano certainly does not want a reprise of what happened to the 2019 budget during his tenure as Speaker. Thus, when a slight misunderstanding ensued between Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte and Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, the House appropriations committee chair, he quickly stepped in to resolve the matter.
The misunderstanding was over Villafuerte’s move to withdraw the 2020 GAB from the House plenary, which Ungab had filed on Aug. 28. Villafuerte said the filing was premature because the budget briefings were still ongoing at the committee level, while Ungab pointed out that the established practice was to prepare the GAB as soon as Malacañang submits its proposed budget, outlined in the National Expenditure Program, to Congress.
A meeting was promptly called by Cayetano between Ungab and Villafuerte, along with Majority Leader Martin Romualdez, Senior Deputy Majority Leader Jesus Crispin Remulla, Deputy Speaker Neptali Gonzales II, appropriations committee vice chairperson Elenita Ermita Buhain, and other vice chairpersons of the panel.
After the meeting, Cayetano pronounced that the misunderstanding was fully resolved, that the budget would be carefully examined but would not be delayed. He requested all government and agencies to submit copies of the presentations of their budget proposals by 5 p.m. of Sept. 3.
With the Speaker’s intervention, no other statement about the misunderstanding was heard from either Villafuerte or Ungab.
With his prompt action on the issue, Cayetano proved his mettle in keeping the House of Representatives in order. His leadership style has kept the House united in helping the President accomplish his goal of laying the groundwork that would enable every Filipino to have a secure, decent, and comfortable life.
The public was also reassured that Cayetano remains true to his goal of transforming the House into a “House of the People,” where its power of the purse is wielded wisely for the public good.
Cayetano has emphasized that he is fully committed to ensure what President Duterte has repeatedly stated that he will not tolerate corruption in his administration. A House of Representatives under Cayetano’s hands-on leadership and close watch against any form of irregularity could finally restore the people’s trust in the institution.
That’s what all House members should strive for, and it’s about time.
ernhil@yahoo.com