MANILA -- The chair of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations said Thursday the Senate’s stand to go back to lump-sum budgeting rather than adopting the more transparent line-item budgeting for the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) would restore the allocations of previous House leaders and their pet districts.
Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr. said it pains him to hear that the senators are standing firm on their preference for lump-sum budgeting despite President Rodrigo Duterte's position on the issue.
Senators have suggested a return to the old-mode of lump-sum budgeting during their meeting with the President Tuesday night.
“One of the senators even proposed that we let the President itemize the lump-sum funds for approval in the 2019 GAA, rather than Congress doing such work. I shot down the idea outright, saying lump-sum funds are prone to corruption and are declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court,” he said.
“The President agreed with my position, saying it was not his duty to itemize the programs and projects in the national budget,” Andaya noted.
However, despite the President’s position, he said the senators are standing pat with their decision, along with a threat: approve the bicameral conference report with lump-sum funds or suffer the consequences of a reenacted budget.
“The House position is clear: we want a budget with the hallmarks of transparency and accountability. Our taxpayers should know where their taxes are going so that they can monitor the programs and projects being funded once the President signs the national budget,” Andaya said.
He said the bicameral conference report that the Senate and the House approved contained lump-sum funds and it is up to each chamber to itemize the lump sum funds contained in the bicameral report before sending the enrolled copy of the General Appropriations Bill to the President.
The former budget secretary said as agreed during the bicam, the House itemized the lump-sum funds after it was ratified in the plenary with the last day for itemization done on March 3.
“The Senate did the same and sent their ‘realignments’ to the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee beginning February 11, three days after it was ratified in the plenary. The last day that the Senate wrapped up the realignments was on March 7. Still, nothing unconstitutional, illegal or irregular,” Andaya said.
“Clearly, both chambers adopted the same procedure. If what the House did was illegal, then the Senate is equally guilty. What's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander,” he added.
However, he pointed out that the House has to fine-tune some items due to the wide discrepancy in the distribution of programs and projects for congressional districts.
“We can no longer allow the old practice of the previous House leadership, which dispenses programs and projects based on loyalties and votes on legislative measures. That’s the reason why there are many districts with zero allocations,” Andaya said.
“This time, the policy direction we got from the Speaker: ensure equitable distribution among districts. No zero allocation. Based on these guidelines, and without departing from the agreed upon parameters, we made sure allocations were equitably distributed,” he said.
Had the present House leadership not resorted to this, Andaya said the allocations for previous House leaders and their pet districts would have remained intact.
He called on the Senate to revisit the list that the House released, enumerating the congressmen who received huge allocations in the previous House leadership.
“I urge the Senate and the public to re-examine the list. Those in the top list were allotted with projects ranging from PHP2 billion to PHP8 billion per district. Is this equitable? Is this conscionable?” he said.
“If the senators will remain steadfast in defending the lump-sum funds, this practice will remain and only the favored districts will get their share of the taxpayers' money. While we aim for an equitable distribution among districts, the Senate obviously wants to restore a budget that is unfair and lopsided,” Andaya said. (PNA)
