Senate to start tackling P1.8T budget November

Now that the House of Representatives had approved the proposed P1.816-trillion budget for 2012 on second reading, the Senate expects to start tackling the budget bill in early November after a scheduled break. Sen. Franklin Drilon, head of the Senate finance committee, on Sunday said the House of Representatives may take three more weeks before approving the bill on third and final reading. "As a matter of practice in the House, pagkaatapos maipasa ang second reading, mga tatlong linggo tatalakayin ang amendments through a small committee in the House," Drilon said in an interview on dzBB radio. "Ang mangyayari, ang congressmen will submit their amendments to the small committee and ang schedule namin mga October 12 ay aaprubahan on third reading ang [General Appropriations] bill at iaakyat sa Senado on or about October 12 para bago mag-break sa October 14, naka-refer na officially sa committee on finance and we can formally take it up in the floor pagbalik namin sa November 7," he added. By the time the Senate resumes session on the first week of November, Drilon said the budget bill can now be taken up on the Senate floor. The Senate is now holding committee hearings on the budget. "Ang schedule hanggang October ang aming committee deliberations," Drilon said. Before midnight Friday, the House of Representatives passed the proposed P1.816-trillion budget for 2012 despite legal questions raised by members of the minority. The congressmen left untouched the controversial provisions on the additional P16 billion for the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program and the P23.4 billion special purpose fund for unfilled government positions. Still, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte voiced hopes that the budget will be approved early. In an interview on government-run dzRB radio, Valte said the Palace is heartened that like last year, the budget appears to be on the way to being passed before yearend. Once the budget is passed before yearend, she said there will be no need for the government to work on a reenacted budget starting Jan. 1, 2012. "Yan ang target nating mangyari ngayon," she said. Enough time for RH debates Meanwhile, Drilon said the Senate debates on the budget will still leave enough time for discussions regarding the controversial reproductive health (RH) bill. Senators had agreed to set aside Mondays and Wednesdays to prioritize debates on the RH bill. "Itong schedule ng debates sa budget, ito ay na-approved sa caucus and this is also approved in the plenary. Alam ng lahat ang debate sa floor sa budget mangyayari pagbalik sa November break," he said. — KBK, GMA News