President Rodrigo Duterte will have no hand in Congress’ “intramurals” over the alleged realignments in the 2019 national budget, Malacañang said Wednesday.
“The President will not interfere with their intramurals. They will have to settle whatever conflict they have among themselves,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo told reporters in a text message.
He made the statement following the allegations of Senator Panfilo Lacson that House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was manipulating the 2019 budget even after its ratification.
READ: Two solons deny pork ‘insertion’ charges
In other developments:
• The chairman of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Appropriations said Wednesday this year’s P3.757-trillion national budget will be signed into law by President Rodrigo Duterte this March.
At the same time, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. dismissed as baseless the statement of outgoing Budget Secretary and incoming Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Governor Benjamin Diokno that changes were made in the national budget.
READ: Solons to partake of P75-billion budget inserts—Andaya
Exposing the attempts to sneak “pork” into the national budget is part of a patriotic duty to ensure good governance through the proper spending of Filipino taxpayers’ money, Lacson said.
As a lawmaker, Lacson said, it was his job to thwart the attempts by some solons to circumvent the Supreme Court’s 2013 ruling declaring “pork” as unconstitutional, lest public money is lost to corruption and incompetence.
“If by exposing all attempts by some lawmakers to go around the Supreme Court ruling declaring pork as unconstitutional, thus stymieing the selfish interests of those elected to perform their legislative duty, I’ll be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that I’ve done my share in guarding against unnecessary wastage of public funds that has prevented our country from taking off and become competitive,” Lacson said.
Lacson, citing information from other congressmen, also claimed that Arroyo had ordered the preparation and imposition of the menu list of the Health department’s appropriations for the Health Facilities Enhancement Program.
Meanwhile, in his press briefing on Tuesday, Panelo sought the position of Arroyo through a phone conversation, saying the House Speaker herself denied Lacson’s allegations.
He also said Arroyo told him that nothing had been altered in the bicameral report on the 2019 national budget.
Arroyo even assured him that the approved bicameral report was the one being printed for submission to the Palace. With Maricel V. Cruz and Macon Ramos-Araneta
READ: Palace sees veto of ‘pork’ insertions
READ: Duterte urged: Line-veto budget of pork, insertions