MARINDUQUE Representative Lord Allan Velasco on Thursday, October 8, 2020, joined other lawmakers in calling for the resumption of plenary sessions at the House of Representatives to avoid any delay in the passage of the proposed national budget for 2021.
“This is the time to set aside political differences against the backdrop of the ongoing pandemic. The budget issue is far bigger than the fight for speakership,” he said.
“Blackmailing the Executive Department to cede to one’s personal ambition or holding the budget hostage in order to achieve one’s political whim is a great disservice to the Filipino people,” he added.
Velasco said the premature termination of deliberations on the budget bill, its hasty approval on second reading and suspension of session ahead of schedule imperiled the enactment of the budget bill, which he described as the “single most important piece of legislation” that Congress passes every year.
Other lawmakers who called for the resumption of sessions to discuss House Bill No. 7727, or the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), are Makabayan bloc Representatives Carlos Isagani Zarate, Eufemia Cullamat, Ferdinand Gaite, France Castro, Arlene Brosas and Sarah Elago.
In a joint statement released this afternoon, the bloc said it is important for members of the House to throughly discuss the national budget for 2021.
“Those trying to block the budget deliberations are obviously the ones who will stand to gain, disregarding the people’s call for a national budget more attuned to the Filipino people’s current need during this time of the Covid pandemic,” they said.
"These should have been discussed and debated on but now are all in limbo because of the abrupt termination of proceedings and premature suspension of the House session," they added.
The group called on the House leadership to "immediately resume the suspended plenary session, reconsider the approval on second reading, and continue the public deliberations on the General Appropriations Bill."
Senator Panfilo Lacson said he has personally suggested to Cayetano to resume the plenary sessions in the House to approve the budget bill on third and final reading.
The House has to approve the budget bill and transmit this to the Senate before the Senate could deliberate on the budget proposals in plenary.
Lacson earlier said the suspension of session at the House would delay approval of the budget and raise the possibility of the government operating on a reenacted budget in 2021. (Jove Moya/SunStar Philippines)