PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has vetoed a P95.3 billion worth of items in the 2019 General Appropriations Act (GAA) because these are "violative" of the 1987 Constitution, MalacaƱang said on Tuesday, April 16.
Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the vetoed items of appropriations included in the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) are the "so-called insertions [or] riders" that are "not part of the program" prioritized by the Duterte administration.
"Remember the decision of the Supreme Court? The decision of the Supreme Court was that if they are unprogrammed, then, it violates the Constitution," the Palace official said in a press conference.
"Hence, it violates the Constitution. Those vetoed provisions are in violation of the Constitution or it is against certain statutes. That was also the statement made by the President," he added.
Following months of budget impasse in Congress due to supposed insertions and realignments, Duterte finally signed into law the 2019 budget bill on Monday, April 15.
The proposed 2019 budget spending was embroiled in controversies, which include the alleged P75-billion insertion in the proposed budget of the DPWH.
On top of it, the Senate and the House of Representatives also accused each other of doing some "insertions" in the proposed budget for this year.
Panelo said the P75-billion included in the initial funding for DPWH was among those vetoed by the President.
He, however, could not confirm if Duterte also used his veto power against the supposed insertions made by the lawmakers from both the Senate and House of Representatives.
"[The insertions allegedly applied by the Senate and the House of Representatives] could be [also vetoed]. I don't know the exact figures. Basta P95.3 billion ang total (The total amount of budget vetoed by Duterte is P95.3 billion). Kasama 'yun (It includes the P75 billion)," Panelo said.
"The message is always you follow the Constitution. Any deviation from the Constitution will not be approved by the President or will not be tolerated," he added. (SunStar Philippines)