Senate, House ratify bicam report on proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020

(Eagle News) — The Senate and the House of Representatives have ratified the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020.

The ratification came only hours after the committee approved the report in Manila Polo Club in Makati.

The ratification pushed through despite Senator Panfilo Lacson’s statement the proposal was not pork-free.

In a statement, Lacson said the House had made “last-minute insertions” using a “source file” or a list of 1253 budget items worth P83.219 billion as basis for their “list” of 742 projects worth P16.345 billion.

“Since there is no preliminary explanation from the House regarding the two files, we cannot ascertain if indeed only P16.345 billion or the bigger amount of P83.219 billion was inserted at the last minute prior to the bicam signing,” Lacson said.

The senator added that the provinces with huge allocations were:

Albay: P670 million

Cavite: P580 million

Sorsogon: P570 million

Batangas: P502 million

Bulacan: P440 million

Pangasinan: P420 million

Cebu: P410 million

He added 117 flood control projects worth P3.179 billion dominate the insertions, with eight projects uniformly budgeted at P60 million each.

With the ratification, the report on the proposed national budget for next year will be sent to President Rodrigo Duterte, who will either sign it or veto it. With a report from Meanne Corvera