THE PHILIPPINE STAR
nation
House OKs P21.75'B DOJ budget for 2O2O
By EDU PUNAY
The. House of RePresenta-
tives has approved the Pro-
posed P21.75-billion budget
bf the Departmeni of Justice
(DOJ) for 2020 desPite ques-
tions on ihe legality of the cre-
ation of the Public Attomey's
Office (PAO) forensic labora-
tory raised by Iloilo 1st district
Rep. Janette Garin.
In budeet deliberations
last Wedn"esday nighi, the
House plenary "terminated"
the proposed budget of DOJ,
FRIDAY I SEPTEMBER 13, 2019
includins PAO as an attached
ug"n.y, it it set aside the isj
sue raised by Garin during
interDellation.
Diring the hearing, Ga-
rin had i heated exchange
with House committee on
aDDroDriations vice chair
C.imposteLa Valley 2nd
"iti
district Rep. Ruwel Peter
Gonzag,a, who sponsored
and defended the DOJ's
proposed budget on the
floor.
Garin alleged that the PAO
forensic office led by Dr' Erwin
I
Erfe has no legal basis under the autopsies on children and no law to justify the creation of
Republic Act No. 9406 - the p"r.or,r *ho di"d after getting the forensic office.
that PAO. shots of Dengvaxia vaccine. The heated debate promPt-
Law created
In response, Gonzaga ar- The vaccine was introduced ed the House leadershiP to
gued that the PAO "has inves- during the previous admin- suspend proceedings and
called Garin and Gonzaga to a
tigative power because it is an istration when Garin was the
attached agency of the DOJ.. health secretary. huddle with Maiority Leader
"We don't need lectures Martin Romualdez.
and therefore it has the power
to investigate, provided it has here. We just need ihe honor- The House plenary later
authority from the secretary of able sponsor to please indicate terminated and approved the
proposed budget of DOJ and
the DOJ." the specific provision oi the
PAO, which is proPosing a
Not satisfied Garin asked PAO law," she stressed.
Goruag| to specify the Pro- Gonzaga then said RA 9406 budget of P4.22 billion next
vision in the PAO law that "allows the PAO to take a case vearl and just required the
bOJ to submit its oPinion
a ows dreation of its forensic buildup." Still not satisfied,
laboratriry, which conducted Garin maintained that there is on the legal issue raised bY
Garin.
The issue was already
raised during hearing of the
Flouse appropriations panel
on the DOJ budget where
PAO chief Persida Rueda-
Acosta explained that their
forensic laboratory office was
approved by the Deparlment
of Budget and Management
since 2004. The funding for
the office was also approved
in the General Appropria-
tions Act for 2019.
-WithJess Diaz, Ding Cer-
vantes, Cecille Suerte Felipe
't P6qe'/4n