House approves proposed 2011 budget on 3rd reading

The House of Representatives on Monday evening voted 175-21 and approved on third reading the proposed P1.645 trillion national budget for 2011. The printed copy of the proposed 2011 General Appropriations Act was given to the House members around 4 p.m. Most of those who voted against the budget were party-list lawmakers and those from the minority bloc. The session started late due to the lack of quorum. When the chamber was finally able to gather 193 lawmakers inside the session hall past 4 p.m., Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales informed them that President Benigno Aquino III has certified House Bill 3101, or the budget bill, as urgent. The certification allows the House to set aside the three-day notice rule and vote on the bill. Minority Leader Edcel Lagman tried to stop the voting by citing Section 26, paragraph 2, Article 6 of the Constitution, which states that, “No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its Members three days before its passage, except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency." But Lagman’s manifestation was rejected and the chamber proceeded with the nominal voting where lawmakers were given an option to explain their vote. Carbon copy Davao del Sur Rep. Marc Douglas Cagas said he is obliged to vote “no" on the bill which he said was a 99 percent replica of the proposal submitted by the Malacanang to the House. “Our proposed amendments have not been included. Lump sums still exist. This representation could not vote for a P21-billion program which would benefit only five percent of the population," he said. Lagman earlier said the budget bill was the handiwork of Malacanang and not the output of the House as no substantial amendments were adopted from the submissions of House members, except the special provisions on the itemization of the P21-billion Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) and the creation of an oversight committee on the CCT as endorsed by the Minority. "Whatever changes effected in budgetary allocations were at the insistence of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) through a series of errata," he said. Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares denounced the rejection of the amendments that they proposed. “Sana hindi na tayo nag-submit ng amendments sa small committee, dapat dito na natin sa floor bakbakin ang amendments (We should’ve submitted the amendments here at the floor and not in the small committee)," he said. “Skewed" Gabriela party-list Rep. Luzviminda Ilagan said the proposed national budget is “skewed towards a wrong priority." This was also the sentiment of Zambales Rep. Ma. Milagros Magsaysay. “After all the intelligent debates and discussions in the committee, it all came to naught. There is still no budget for rural electrification, no assistance to [overseas Filipino workers], no additional scholarships and not enough farm to market roads," she said. Others who rejected the budget bill were Gabriela party-list Rep. Emmi de Jesus, Lagman, Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano, and ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio. The yes vote Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, meanwhile, stood up to explain his “yes" vote. “This is the budget the President wants that’s why I’m voting for it. I hope that this is his budget and not someone else’s budget. We should give him time to prove that he can deliver on the expectations of the people," he said. House appropriations committee chairman Joseph Emilio Abaya earlier said the chamber has realigned some P5 billion to P6 billion of the P1.6 trillion proposed budget for 2011 to benefit, among others, districts with lower allocations. He said some of the realigned funds would go to flood control and preventive maintenance projects as well as the rehabilitation of old roads. Some P2.5 billion, meanwhile, was realigned to the National Food Authority for the purchase – "and not importation" – of palay. Abaya said the fund will be sourced from the P5 billion initially earmarked for the private-public partnership (PPP) projects of the Department of Agriculture. Abaya, together with Lagman, Gonzales, Jocelyn Limkaichong, Rolando Andaya met earlier to sift through the amendments submitted by their colleagues and approve the ones that will be included in the proposed budget. - KBK, GMANews.TV