The plenary deliberations on the proposed P3.757-trillion national budget for 2019 was marred by a threat to oust Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles, the head of the House of Representatives’ appropriations committee.
That came about even as Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will not in any way reduce or slash the Duterte administration’s proposed budget for 2019, according to Majority Leader and Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.
He said Arroyo would want to ensure that funds were allocated to support the priority programs of President Duterte.
“There is no slash to be talked about,” said Andaya, chairman of the House committee on rules.
“The President’s budget in terms of aggregate amount is intact and the Speaker has no intention to reduce that amount of budget as presented.”
The House in plenary session Monday failed to tackle the budget bill after it was adjourned around 4:45 pm. It opened the session at 10 in the morning for the sponsorship speech and the debates on the proposed General Appropriations Act for 2019, but it was prevented by the intramurals over the chairmanship of the appropriations committee.
But Andaya denied the reports that Nograles would be replaced as chairman of the House committee on appropriations.
“There is no reorganization. Business as usual,” Andaya told reporters.
A House source said the threat to get rid of Nograles came after Andaya discovered a total of a P55-billion fund as alleged ‘insertions’ supposedly for ‘infrastructure’ projects for the respective districts of some 40 congressmen.
In an executive meeting he conducted before the 10 am session, Andaya allegedly engaged Nograles in a shouting match following the discovery of the “insertions” in the 2019 national budget.
One source said Andaya would want Nograles to approve a committee report on the 2019 budget measure minus the alleged insertions. But Nograles insisted on not signing a committee report that was not prepared by his committee.
There were two committee reports prepared by the House appropriations committee: One, containing the P55-billion “insertions” prepared by the Nograles panel, and other prepared by the House leadership without the P55 billion reportedly intended to the favored lawmakers.
Apparently trying to help Nograles argue his position, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte and Andaya also engaged in a verbal tussle. The two had some internal political bickering in Camarines Sur.
But Nograles, after meeting Monday afternoon with Palace officials led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, said he was ready to sponsor and defend the budget bill.
Nograles also denied the P55 billion, saying “there was nothing to discuss. We did not approve any as such.”
He also said there was only one committee report that was prepared by the House appropriations committee and approved by the House committee on rules.
He said the budget measure that was submitted by the Palace had been thoroughly discussed at the committee level.
“It was the budget bill given to us by the executive. It is a line-item budget, and we have been ready to defend all those items in the budget bill,” Nograles said.
“We have been meeting with our counterparts.”
Nograles said the executive meeting “was not really conducted the regular way.”
He also said he was prepared to vacate his post in the event he was ousted.
“If anybody wants to remove me as chair of the committee on appropriations, then they can have the position. This budget is for the needs of our people,” Nograles said.
The source said it was Medialdea who appealed to the House leadership to maintain the status quo to avoid controversies.
The source said Special Assistant to the President Christopher Go called up Speaker Arroyo to allegedly appeal for the restoration of the P55-billion budget that Nograles endorsed, but she did not make any commitment.