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Budget row rock House, lawmakers wrangle

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives
have not even started budget deliberations
on the plenary level but, alqeady, they
have started wrangling over suspicions of
"pork' insertions.
On Monday, some lawmakers opposed
the decision of Deputy Speaker luis Ray
'mund "LRay" Villafuerte to withdraw the
P4.l-trillion budget for 2020 frorn being
tabled for first reading, casting doubt on
the proceedings.that may leadlo a repeat
of last year's budget impasse brought by
alleged "pork" insertions.
H ouse appropriations commjttee chair-
man Isidro "Sid" Ungab said Villafuerte's
move would "definitely derail the scJred-
ule.and approval of the budget." -
Ungab'said it was an established prac-
tice of the panel to prepare the General
Appropriations Bill (GAB) immediately
after the National Expenditure Program
had been submitted
"I've been with the appropriations
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Budget row rocks House

committee for a long time... I added to the budget," he said. i

know.when not to put insertions Rep. Ferdinand Gaite said the '
in the proposed budget. He (Vil- budget fiasco might be a result of '
lafuerte) is implying that an the speakership figh't in the House.
insertion will really be made. "As can be seen, Rep. LRay Vil- ,
He keeps on intervening, he' lafuerte is associatedwith Speakel
wants to amend the GAB, which Alan Peter Cayetano, while House ,
,is wrong," he said in English Appropriations Committee Chair-
and Filipino. man Rep. Isidro Ungab is associ-
House Committee on Wap and ated with Rep. Paolo Duterte and
Means Chairman foey Salceda said Mayor Sara Duterte, and this in- i
because of Wafirertds motion, the tramurals on the 2020 budget is a '
printing ofthe bill had to be stopped. manifestation of the fightbetween
"Hearings will go on but the their principals," he said.
significant implication is we can't Villafuerte said he moved to {'ith-,
go to the floorwithoutthe GAB re- draw and retum to tfre com.tnittee
fenedto the committee, approved lcvel .&e.'prematurely filed" House
by the committee and passed Blll 4228 as ordered,by House
through the rules committee," Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Salceda said. "Cong. Sid Ungab wanted
"Tdprepare another set of Gen- to fast-track the approval... he ,

eral Appropriatioqs Bill will re-
quire enormous time, efforts and
resources that will surely affect
or delay the passage of the 2020
Budget," Ungab noted.
Bayan Muna party-list said the
budget bill withdrawal might just
be a "prelude to pork barrel inser-
tions" and proposed to suspend
budget deliberations to scrutinize
the measure.
"This development is quite
alarming, even disturbing. It
smells like the greasy patronage
pork is being put into the oven.
In light of this, we are calling for
put the names of the concerned
House members, including
Speaker Alan as co-author of the
GAB. I asked him (Cayetano)
if he knew about this, he said
he didn't know," Villafuerte
told The Manila Times.
"Everything should be done in
due process. We should have a hear-
ingfirstwith all concemed agencies
regarding their budget proposals.
We still havetime," he added.
Late Monday, Cayetano said
the House leadership had re-
solved through a meeting all
issues surrotinding the pro- "

a suspension of the budget delib- cedure, leaving no place for

erations until the 2020 GAB... is "pork and parking."
refiled," said Bayan lr{una Rep. "We assure the public that the '

Carlos Zarate. budget will be scrutinized, but':

"We also need to scrutinize the will not be delayed and will be
GAB that will be refiled to see if transparent. Pork and parking
indeed more pork, amorphous have no place in the 2020 budget "
sTPe
lump sum funds or intelligence
and confidential funds have been
the speaker said.
GLEE JALEA u'r P\wtl