Senator Panfilo Lacson said Monday he will ask the Budget department about the P20 billion in “parked funds” in the 2020 national budget.
“I will have it clarified, and I have all the items, all the descriptions of the appropriations. Our question is how they intend to spend it,” Lacson said.
“Remember that last year, the other financial assistance to the LGUs, amounted to P16 billion. When the HOR [House of Representatives] transmitted to us their version, it became P19 billion, which we deleted. The problem then was the bulk in the major portion of the P19 billion that were realigned.”
But Malacañang on Monday challenged Lacson to identify the alleged P20 billion worth of questionable projects that he claimed were “parked” in the proposed 2020 budget.
President Rodrigo Duterte would “remove” such appropriations, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said and urged Lacson to mark the questionable items he alleged.
“Tell Senator Lacson to point out what specific item in the GAA [General Appropriations Act] the P20-billion pork barrel he is referring to and the President will remove it,” Panelo told reporters in a text message.
Meanwhile, the leaders of the House of Representatives on Monday thanked Lacson for his “objective assessment” of the 2020 General Appropriations Bill that was passed swiftly last month by the chamber under the leadership of Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.
Cayetano maintained that the House-approved 2020 budget was “pork-free.”
House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez and Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr. on Monday also commended Lacson for acknowledging the hard work of the House in ensuring a pork-free national budget for next year.
“[Senator Lacson’s] proposal for the Senate to adopt the national budget that we approved is a step in the right direction. This bolsters our position that what we approved and transmitted to the Senate is a constitutionally compliant General Appropriations Bill,” Romualdez said.
Lacson also considered the P20-billion as “uncleared as described.” He said that when they talked about the budget, especially the Projects, Activities and Programs, they should be specific or properly described.
For example, Lacson said, there were two items involving Kennon Road. He said one item said it was P507 million Kennon Road.
“There’s another item”•P70 plus million which was specified as having stationing from Km so and so to Km so and so. It should be that way. Then there are other items under Special Purpose Fund,” Lacson said.
The SPF, he said, was used to augment in case of the lack of a regular budget. Under Assistance to LGUs, there was P4 billion under the item Other Financial Assistance to LGUs. “That is not clear.”
Lacson also remembered that Interior Secretary Eduardo Año and the other DILG officials gave a negative reply when he asked them during the agency’s budget deliberations if they knew about P4 billion and how it would be used.
Lacson also said there was another item, P2.5 billion, again under ALGU, the description of which was also Assistance to Cities. With MJ Blancaflor and Maricel V. Cruz
