Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said they are now studying the “changes” made by the House of Representatives on the National Expenditure Program (NEP) to determine if they were justifiable.
“I’m collaborating with Committee on Finance chairman Sen. (Joseph Victor) JV (Ejercito) on the changes, amendments, insertions made by the House. We are determining if they were valid or if there is a need because they also have the responsibility to amend, change but it should have basis and just replace a project with another with no basis,” Gatchalian said in a chance interview Tuesday.
Gatchalian said he has also been coordinating with the Department of Public Works and Highways to find out if the “changed” projects under the NEP have feasibility studies and work programs.
Gatchalian said passing the budget on time before the year ends is an enormous task since they also have the impeachment trial to attend to.
“I’m working with Sen. JV on the schedule to make sure that our schedule is on track. We aim to approve and ratify the budget bill before the end of the year. But like last year, we will work through the Christmas season, if needed. We made it last year, but we have no choice, so even on Christmas we have to work just to finish the budget,” Gatchalian said.
Gatchalian said their initial agreement was that they will resume the impeachment trial once they get back to work November 9, after the Halloween break which started October 10.
“We will try to finish everything about the impeachment trial as much as possible. Then, we will take a break for the plenary, maybe one week to one and a half weeks. And then after that, we will hold the trial once again if the proceedings are not yet finished. But we will devote one to two weeks for the budget,” Gatchalian added.
Gatchalian said another thing that they will have to discuss with the House is the schedule for the bicameral conference committee to consolidate the disagreeing provisions in the Senate and House versions of the budget bill.
“Our first step now is to consolidate the budget so the committee report can be produced. After that, it will be sponsored and then the plenary debates. And then after that, we’ll enter into the bicam. So, we are still looking at how our arrangement will be with the bicam,” Gatchalian said.
To prevent delays in the bicam, Gatchalian said “we’ll find a common ground, as much as possible” but did not rule out the possibility that the bicam proceedings will be stalled due to “intense deliberations.”
“As much as possible we’ll find a common ground because they also want to finish this before the end of the year. It’s the most important or most effective stimulus program. So, we need to pass the budget before the end of the year,” Gatchalian added.
Ejercito earlier said that the House realigned some P206 billion worth of programs and projects including those for health care, public works, and foreign-assisted projects.
Ejercito said the budget for foreign-assisted projects (FAPs) under the House General Appropriations Bill (HGAB) was decreased by around P130 billion, while some P9.5 billion were reduced for calamity funds, and the allocation for health facilities enhancement was lowered by P4.45 billion, but the funds for medical assistance programs increased by P23.9 billion.
Some P4 billion were also taken away for immunization programs.
The People’s Budget Coalition on Monday said there are more than P1 trillion worth of programs and projects which it deemed questionable, including P210 billion “soft pork” under the “patronage-driven” financial assistance programs, P695 billion “hard pork which are politicized infrastructure” and P112 billion “shadow pork” or unprogrammed appropriations.
Gatchalian said they also have the same findings as that of the PBC’s.
“I thank the PBC because they independently studied the budget. We also studied their findings and our findings matched theirs,” Gatchalian added.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the insights shared by the civil society organizations (CSOs) which attended the consultation meeting in the Senate last Monday further strengthened his resolve to protect public funds.
He thanked the CSOs for their passion in helping uphold transparency in the budget process since senators cannot spot all the red flags in the budget bill on their own.
“Maawa naman kayo! Yesterday’s (Monday) budget hearing left me torn between despair and hope. Engaging with diverse advocacy groups, both young and old, united as guardrails for public funds was truly inspiring. As a steadfast budget vanguard myself, it has further strengthened my resolve,” Lacson said on X.
Lacson said last Monday’s meeting was a “paradox” since the issues raised by the CSOs made him wonder if there is still hope for the country given the changes made in the NEP.
He raised the possibility of again inviting the CSOs to attend the bicam for them to serve as “cheering squad” of pro-transparency legislators.
“Without you we cannot do the job. Our staffs are dedicated but they cannot comb through all the items in the budget in a short time. You are our multiplier (effect),” Lacson added.
During the meeting, Lacson also proposed keeping some P311 billion in unreleased funds earmarked for the Universal Health Care Act — sourced from the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, and sin tax proceeds — out of the General Appropriations Act to prevent the funds from being realigned to questionable items.
The CSOs estimated that the unreleased earmarked funds had accumulated to P311 billion since 2022.
Lacson said the UHC Law was passed seven years back, but the implementation has regressed to pilot testing in selected barangays when it should already been covering all barangays.
Ejercito said he will take note of Lacson’s proposal.