But says Senate can start tackling budget bill without final passage in House
https://youtu.be/f3h0vM_EYks
(Eagle News) – Malacanang is ready to call for a special session after December 14 if needed to prevent delays in the passage of the proposed PhP4.506 trillion national budget amid the squabble on the House leadership.
Palace spokesperson Harry Roque said that Malacanang believes there is still enough time to finish deliberations on the budget bill, or House Bill 7727 which had been passed on second reading by the House of Representatives on Oct. 6.
This was notwithstanding the move by House Speaker Cayetano to immediately suspend hearings at the House until 3 p.m. of Nov. 16. Allies of Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco claimed this was a move to prevent the latter from contesting the speakership post.
“Pero kung kinakailangan po talaga eh mayroon naman po ng December 14 ‘no na adjournment ..ang Kongreso. Kung talagang kinakailangan, after the 14th, doon po magpapatawag ng special session. Wala naman pong prejudice iyan,” Roque said.
But Roque said that the early suspension of hearings at the Lower House should not be reason to delay passage of the bill.
-Supreme Court rulings cited-
He said that the Senate can still tackle the budget bill even if the House failed to pass this on third and final reading, citing a Supreme Court ruling.
“Ulitin ko lang po, hindi po dapat maging dahilan ng pagkaantala ng national budget itong nangyari sa Kamara. Malinaw po ang desisyon ng Tolentino. It is not the law but the revenue bill which is required by the Constitution to originate exclusively in the House of Representatives. Iyong pagsasampa lang po ng panukalang batas, dapat nauna ang pagsasampa sa Kamara de Representante. At dahil ito naman po ay nasunod, wala pong hadlang, para magpatuloy ang deliberation ng Senado sa national budget bill,” Roque explained.
The Palace spokesperson cited the Supreme Court ruling in Tolentino vs. Secretary of Finance, and Alvarez vs. Guingona.
“Ang isyu: Kinakailangan ba hong mapasa on third and final reading bago po makaakto ang Senado? Ang sagot po ng Korte Suprema – hindi,” Roque stressed on Thursday.
“Ibig sabihin, maski hindi pa po nagti-third reading ang Kamara ay pupuwede naman pong ma-discuss na ng Senado iyong proposed appropriations bill,” he explaned.
Roque also said that President Rodrigo Duterte still respects whoever will be the choice of lawmakers to be their Speaker, as he respects the senators’ prerogative to elect their leader or Senate President.
“Ganoon pa man, in the same way na ang Presidente naman po ay nirerespeto ang indibidwal na opinion o boto ng mga miyembro ng Senado kung sino ang dapat maging Senate President, malinaw na malinaw ang mensahe ng Presidente,” he noted.
“Iyan ay purely internal matter of the House of Representatives, bahala po ang mga representante ng ating mga taumbayan na maghalal ng kanilang lider diyan sa Kamara de Representante. Malinaw na malinaw po ang posisyon ng Presidente at malinaw rin po ang Constitution at ang jurisprudence tungkol dito sa bagay na ito,” he added,
On Thursday night, Oct. 8, President Duterte warned the two lawmakers – Cayetano and Velasco – to resolve the leadership impasse at the House or he will be forced to make a move so there would be no delays in the passage of the 2021 national budget, critical to the Philippine government’s anti-COVID response.
(Eagle News Service)
