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Sunday, June 25, 2006
Malacañang still hopes Congress will pass 2006 outlay
BUDGET Secretary Rolando Andaya Jr. said he remains hopeful that the "last-minute" habit of Congress would result in the passage of the 2006 national budget.
Andaya said he is not yet throwing in the towel despite doubts expressed by Senate President Franklin Drilon on whether the Senate and the House of Representatives could still break their impasse on the P1.053 trillion budget.
"I don't want to refer to the 2006 GAA (General Appropriations Act) in the past tense. Others may be eulogizing it, but I am not," he said.
He said Congress' history is fraught with "photo-finish" legislation or when priority bills are crafted at the 11th hour.
Andaya cited the surprise move of the Senate last year when it approved without amendments the House version of the 2005 budget, which foreclosed the need to convene a bicameral conference.
He said the Senate could still break the impasse on the budget by doing the same thing and retracting its P26 billion cut from the proposed 2006 budget.
Finance Secretary Margarito Teves has said Congress could still pass the 2006 budget as long as the proposed 2007 budget has not been submitted by Malacañang to the House of Representatives. (JMR/Sunnex)
(June 25, 2006 issue)
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