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Rm. N-411, House of Representatives, Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines
+63 2 931 5497, +63 2 931 5001 local 7370

The Palace has to blink on the budget standoff with the House of Representatives in order to foreclose the adverse consequences of a reenacted budget on the Executive.

The reaction of Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque that a reenacted budget favors the Executive is early sourgraping for a possible reenactment of the 2018 General Appropriations Act (GAA) consequent to the impasse on the adoption of a cash-based budgeting being pushed by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno but unanimously opposed by legislators.

No administration would welcome a reenacted budget because:

  1. A reenactment is a rebuke of the President who has submitted to the Congress his annual budget proposal as contained in the National Expenditure Program (NEP).

  2. It would derail the administration’s ambitious “build, build and build” infrastructure program.

  3. Appropriations for capital outlay already implemented cannot be repeated and would have to be used for new projects subject to congressional oversight.

  4. The President’s restructuring of the reenacted budget is not absolute.

  5. The administration’s proposals on new projects and programs could not be implemented pending the reenactment of the GAA for 2019.

 

EDCEL C. LAGMAN