Senate to inform Duterte again of questionable insertions —Lacson

The Senate will again inform President Rodrigo Duterte of the questionable insertions in the proposed P4.1 trillion national budget for 2020, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Thursday.

“Ang mangyayari ngayon, nag-usap kami nina SP (Senate President Vicente Sotto III)  at Senator (Sonny) Angara, finance chair. Ililista namin ang lahat na questionable items at ‘yan ay ipapadala namin, inform namin,” Lacson said in an interview on Dobol B sa News TV.

“Of course we cannot influence the President. But we can inform him and DBM (Department of Budget and Management) na ito ang sa tingin namin ang questionable at maaaring hindi maimplementa o kung maimplementa man, hindi tama ang pag-implementa,” he added.

Lacson has earlier revealed that at least 1,253 budget items worth P83.219 billion were apparently used as the congressmen's "source" of their "list" of 742 projects worth P16.345 billion that were inserted in the bicameral conference committee report signed by Senate and House panels Wednesday morning. 

He said these items were not included in the budget bill of either the Senate or House.

“Ideally dapat nire-reconcile lang ang hindi napagkasunduan sa HOR and Senate versions. Pero ang nangyari nga, last-minute reinsertions, hindi kasama sa HOR o Senate version,” Lacson said.

However, he said what happened last year was worse as the insertions were made after the Senate and House ratified the bicam report.

“Mas malala ang nakaraang taon. Kasi ang ginawa nila, na-ratify na namin, ratified ng HOR at Senado, nang naimprenta naiba bigla. Hindi kasama sa na-ratify namin. Ngayon at least kasama sa na-ratify pero questionable pa rin,” Lacson said.

He said he received information that many of the insertions were the items vetoed by the President in the 2019 budget.

“So ang nangyari ngayon ang pinaghugutan ang P83.129 billion ito ang source list sa USB drive, karamihan doon, ito ang kinwestyon ko dati na dinelete ng DPWH. Kinuha uli nila,” he said.

“At ang information na natanggap namin ang natanggal noong isang taon dahil vineto ng Presidente, gusto i-recover ng ilang kongresista sa pamamagitan na naman ng 2020 budget. Kaya ayaw nilang tumigil,” he added. —KBK, GMA News