President Rodrigo Duterte is studying the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020, Malacañang said Sunday.
Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo also said Duterte would wield his veto power to get rid of pork insertions in the proposed budget as claimed by Senator Panfilo Lacson.
“Just like what we're saying ever since, the President will sign any proposed measure that complies with the Constitution, Panelo said in a radio interview.
“He will veto any provisions that violate the Constitution. That's what he always says.”
Meanwhile, employees of the Public Attorney’s Office are asking the Office of the President to veto a special provision in the General Appropriations Bill limiting and preventing the use of its maintenance and other operating expenses fund for the operation of its forensic laboratory division.
PAO chief Persida Acosta, together with PAO lawyers and the other workers, sent a formal communication to President Rodrigo Duterte through Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, lamenting Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman’s initiative to “introduce amendments to the National Expenditure Program/General Appropriations Bill affecting the PAO.”
Lacson earlier claimed that about 1,253 budget items worth P83.219 billion were included in the proposed 2020 General Appropriations Act, as congressmen’s “source” of funds for their pet projects.
He said he could not determine which of the two sets of projects were inserted “at the last minute” prior to the bicameral signing on Dec. 11 because “there is no preliminary explanation from the House regarding the two files.”
He said the provinces that received the biggest share of the supposed insertions were Albay (P670 million), Cavite (P580 million), Sorsogon (P570 million), Batangas (P502 million), Bulacan (P440 million), Pangasinan (P420 million) and Cebu (P410 million).
Panelo could not say as to when the President would sign the budget spending plan for next year, but Acting Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado said in an interview that the proposed budget was scheduled to be signed by the first week of January.
The national government was forced to operate on a reenacted 2018 budget in the first few months this year because lawmakers had squabbled over the supposed insertions and realignments in the P3.757-trillion budget for 2019.
The President was only able to sign the budget on April 15 this year.
The delay in the budget’s passage was blamed for the slower GDP growth for the first quarter and second quarter at 5.6 and 5.5 percent, respectively”•lower than the 6.6 and 6.2 percent recorded last year.