Senate Majority Floor Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said Thursday some House members agreed on a “ceasefire” after they demanded an apology from Senator Panfilo Lacson, who claims about P54 billion in pork barrel was initially allotted to congressmen in next year’s P4.1-trillion national budget.
Zubiri said he spoke with House Majority Floor Leader Martin Romualdez during the birthday party of Senator Ramon Revilla Jr. on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
“We agreed on a ceasefire because the individual members of the Senate and the individual members of the House who criticize one another does not represent the institution,” Zubiri said.
“My position here is to be more circumspect. We have to work the budget, and no further comments should be made on this issue.”
Zubiri said he also asked Rep. Mike Defensor to no longer comment on the matter. He said Defensor also agreed with his request.
The senator, who claimed in jest that he was the “peacemaker” in the Senate, also said he would try to speak with Lacson to stop further making comments on the issue.
“We just don’t want to escalate it into a word war wherein we will hamper our business of the day, which is basically right now passing the budget and at the same time passing the tax measures being imposed by the DOF [Department of Finance],” Zubiri said.
But Lacson said nobody could stop him from talking if he saw something wrong.
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon said he would not waste time on “inane ideas” from the House of Representatives after one of its members asked to cut the proposed Senate budget next year.
Saying the senators had so much work, especially at this time of the year, Drilon said he did not want to waste his time.
Congress was allotted P22.8 billion under the 2020 General Appropriations Bill passed by the House on Sept. 20.
From this, Senate will get P7.4 billion; the Senate Electoral Tribunal, P0.292 billion; the Commission on Appointments, P0.817 billion; the House of Representatives, P14 billion; and the House Electoral Tribunal, P0.16 billion.
Defensor wanted to reduce the Senate’s 2020 budget next year since, he said, the lawmakers from the upper chamber did not have specific constituencies.
Defensor said this after Rep. Fredenil Castro demanded an apology from Senator Panfilo Lacson for his “pork” claims against the members of the House of Representatives.
“Besides demanding an apology from the Honorable Lacson, would you also advocate taking out a budget from the Senate, no initiative coming from them, since they do not have a constituency anyway?” Defensor asked Castro Wednesday during the interpellation of his privilege speech.
Lacson also disclosed Thursday that Rep. Fredenil Castro had earlier attempted to approach him allegedly to “lobby a project.”
He said Castro sought to have an audience with him before this came out.
“I did not come to face him. I saw a visitor’s slip saying Congressman Fred Castro would like to visit. I asked my staff. It seems he wanted to lobby a project,” he said.
According to Lacson, he declined to meet Castro because he had failed to make amends with him on the issue on the pork barrel and federalism in 2018.
“I did not talk to him. What for? Because in 2018 he kept on hitting me not only on the issue of pork but also on the issue on federalism,” he said.