MANILA -- The House of Representatives constituted itself as a Committee of the Whole on Tuesday to discuss House Bill 8169 or the 2019 General Appropriations Bill (GAB), which proposes a PHP3.757-trillion national budget for next year.
The House plenary approved the motion of Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. to convene as a Committee of the Whole.
"Upon the authority granted to the Majority Leader by the committee on rules to act on the House Bill 8169, and pursuant to Rule 18, Section 137 under the rules of the House, I move that the House be constituted into the Committee of the Whole in order for the House to consider House Bill No. 8169," Andaya said.
Under House rules, the House may constitute itself into a Committee of the Whole, to function as a regular committee acting upon a bill or resolution.
Its members include all members of the House.
Andaya was appointed as chair of the said committee.
“We pursue our task of reviewing the budget. Our intention is not to destroy what the executive proposes, but to strengthen it,” Andaya said.
The plenary deliberations on the national budget was supposed to start Monday, 10 a.m., but it was stalled due to lawmakers' concerns over the alleged more than PHP50-billion insertion in the 2019 budget. (PNA)
