House to resume 2019 budget deliberations on Thursday, Aug. 16

(Eagle News) — The House of Representatives will resume budget hearings on Thursday, Aug. 16.

House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya said this was after the House leadership–represented by him and Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo—“established clear lines of communication” with President Rodrigo Duterte in a meeting on Tuesday in Malacanang.

“We clarified that there is no rejection in the proposal of the Palace. A lot of the hype was most probably due to miscommunication,” he said.

In the end, he said the House and the executive branch compromised to implement a “hybrid” budget system for next year.

Under the system, he said appropriations will be valid for one year and six months—instead of for one year with a three-month extension under the cash-based budget system espoused by Duterte’s economic managers.

“We have to balance it. Budget should be demand-based not supply-based,” Andaya said.

The House earlier suspended budget briefings “indefinitely” in opposition to the system proposed by Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno and Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez.