Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo. (RTVM image)

The Palace expected Congress to settle differences regarding the budget and pass the General Appropriations Bill this week.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Congress is expected to complete its job “to review, to amend, to restructure” the budget.

At the meeting of the bicameral conference committee, it was found that lawmakers, senators and congressmen alike, are guilty of “insertions” in the proposed P3.757 trillion 2019 national budget.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said members of the House of Representatives made “insertions” ranging from a low of P408 million to a high of P8.4 billion.

LACSON “The highest is P8.4 billion to a lowest of P408 million,” Lacson said.

On the other hand, some senators got from P2.3 billion to P3.2 billion.

Lacson, however, maintained that such amounts would be justified if they are institutional amendments and with prior consultations with the implementing agencies.

During the deliberations, House leaders said senators have introduced approximately P190 billion “insertions” through institutional amendments.

“The Senate version is seeking an amendment or a total net increase of around P190 billion and the House asks P51 billion,” House leaders said.

However, Senate Committee on Finance chairman Loren Legarda was quick to defend that these are not “pork” as these additional funds in the department, which they refer to as “institutional amendments” are requests from different agencies that have been vetted.

“Let me just clarify that the Senate report of P189.2 billion are not all infrastructure. P68 billion of that are unprogrammed appropriations and much of that are requests of agencies,” Legarda said.

She cited various agencies such as the Office of the President, Office of the Vice President, Congress, Departments of Interior and Local Government (DILG), Agrarian Reform (DAR), Agriculture (DA) and Health (DoH), among others as agencies who called for additional funds to reconsider the projects that were not included in the National Expenditure Program.

We should set aside the institutional amendments, because that’s unfair and those amendments were initiated upon request by the agencies themselves.

“Senator Lacson made a cut of P72 billion and an increase of P47 billion. The reason why it was a P189 billion increase was that P50 (billion) are amendments of the vice chair who has been scrutinizing the budget and we accepted most of his amendments,” Legarda disclosed.

Lacson insisted that the institutional amendments should be set aside from the individual amendments as these were upon requests by the agencies themselves.

“But we should set aside the institutional amendments because that’s unfair and those amendments were initiated upon request by the agencies themselves… But we also vet before we approve their request or before we include in our amendments the requests, we also do our own vetting… So, can we just agree first on a workable figure,” Lacson suggested.

This was agreed to by Legarda citing that there were still requests like the P800 million for the World Teacher’s Day Celebration and funding for the DILG’s 911 Command Center.

“I hope that you understand that we are besieged by agency requests up until midnight last night. I hope this would not misconstrued as my individual amendments because as chair I’m sure House leaders also receive requests from agencies as well,” she said.

Moreover, Legarda agreed with the individual amendments proposed by House members as their congressional districts also required additional budgets to address the needs of their constituents.

“I don’t consider that as pork as long as there is an institution or agency request and has been vetted by regional development councils, request from barangays, LGU (local government units) or province… Let it not be considered as pork and I hope our colleague, the vice chair Senator Lacson won’t mind this. I understand the needs of your districts and I understand your requests from your chair,” she said.