Bicam members to sign reconciled 2020 budget bill on Tuesday —Salceda

The reconciled version of the 2020 budget bill is almost ready and the Senate and House contingents on the bicameral conference committee are expected to sign it Tuesday, Albay Representative Joey Salceda said Monday.

"Ready na, nagkasundo na yung House and Senate. Mga konting detalye na lang," Salceda told reporters in an interview.

"Magpipirma kami sa bicam report. We will approve of the bicam report of the members of the bicam," he said.

Members of the bicameral conference committee on the 2020 national budget will be meeting for one last time on Tuesday to prepare the reconciled version of the budget bill.

Senate finance committee chair Sonny Angara has said that 90 to 95% of the disagreeing provisions in the two chamber's respective versions of the bill have already been reconciled.

"Senator [Panfilo] Lacson's proposals like placing some limits on administrative costs and having the possibility of greater local projects have also been adopted in some form in the budget general and special provisions," he said.

Both Salceda and Senate President Vicente Sotto III are expecting they would be able to ratify the bicameral conference committee version of the budget bill on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Salceda is confident that they will be able to meet their deadline of submitting the enrolled budget bill to President Rodrigo Duterte by December 21.

"December 21 nasa desk na ng Pangulo," he said.

The 2020 General Appropriations Act will provide for a P4.1 trillion national budget for operations of the government from January 1 to December 31 next year. —KBK, GMA News