Tag Archives: pork barrel
NO PORK
UNGAB: NO PORK BARREL IN 2020 NATIONAL BUDGET
House Committee on Appropriations chairman Davao City Representative Isidro Ungab said that there had been attempts from congressmen to insert around P70-B to P90-B in the budget for the public works projects in their respective districts.
But Ungab assured that there will be no pork barrel in the national budget.
“I have to be prank and honest. Mahirap talaga kasi malaki yung amount. Mahirap ma-entertain yung kanilang request,” Ungab said.
The annual budget was expected to be approved before the first session break on October.
The Ungab committee approved on Monday, September 9, its report on the proposed PHP4.1-trillion national budget for 2020.
In an executive session, the panel approved without amendments the committee report on House Bill 4228, principally authored by Ungab, which seeks to appropriate funds for the operation of the government from January 1 to Dec. 31, 2020.
Albay Rep. Joey Salceda, senior vice chair of the appropriations panel, said the 2020 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) is a “faithful” copy of the National Expenditure Program.
Salceda also stressed that the budget bill reflects the national goals, particularly providing a safe and comfortable life for all, becoming an upper-middle income country by 2022, and A- credit rating also by 2022.
“We want to approve a budget that really serves our people, serves our constituencies, and of course, reflects the values of our country,” Salceda added.
Ungab noted that his committee has completed in “record time” the hearings on the 2020 budget proposals of all government departments, agencies and offices.
Previous schedules of the House showed that the annual budget hearings usually ended on the fourth week of September.
Ungab said the sponsorship and start of floor deliberations on HB 4228 are scheduled on Tuesday.
He added that the House is sticking to its original target date to pass the proposed national budget, which is before the October 4 recess.
The PHP4.1-trillion budget for 2020 is 12 percent more than this year’s PHP3.7-trillion expenditure program.
With the theme “Continuing the Journey to a More Peaceful and Progressive Philippines”, the 2020 budget will fund projects and programs that will continue the journey towards a more peaceful and progressive Philippines.
The Department of Budget and Management said the 2020 budget will continue to support inclusive growth strategies, aimed at accelerating investments in public infrastructure, improving anti-poverty programs, and intensifying employment generation.
The spending priorities are infrastructure development, food security, human capital development, and peace and national security. (with PNA report)
ALVAREZ GOT P5 BILLION IN 2019 NATIONAL BUDGET
Former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez allocated himself with PHP5 billion in government projects in the PHP3.757-trillion proposed national budget for 2019.
Alvarez’s closest allies, former Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas was allocated PHP3.5 billion, while former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations Karlo Alexei Nograles received PHP4 billion.”
Alvarez (First District, Davao del Norte), is on top of the list of congressmen with the biggest projects in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for 2019.
House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. on Tuesday revealed that the former Speaker and his allies got the biggest allocations for their districts in the proposed national budget for 2019.
Andaya disclosed this in his letter to President Rodrigo Duterte, explaining the position of Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo regarding the PHP2.4 billion worth of projects allocated for her district in Pampanga.
He said the allies of the previous leadership received larger allocations than Arroyo under the 2019 national budget.
He noted that the current Speaker’s district only ranked 60th, while his district placed 110th in terms of appropriations for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
“On top of the list with biggest DPWH projects is the district of former Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez with PHP5 billion, while the district of the former Majority Leader Rodolfo Farinas was allocated PHP3.5 billion, and district of former Chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations Karlo Alexei Nograles received PHP4 billion,” Andaya said.
He said the DPWH leadership reportedly knew nothing about these “huge funding spikes in other favored districts”.
He further cited the National Economic Development Authority, revealing that many of these projects were not recommended by the Regional Development Councils.
“I am certain that if this fine print of the budget was brought to the President’s attention by his Budget officials, he would not have countenanced it as it would violate his oft-repeated promise to the people of equal progress for all,” Andaya said in his letter.
Andaya said the directive of the present House leadership is to give residents in all districts “equal opportunity for growth and the same access to services” through the national budget.
“What the present House leadership did was, in a manner compliant with all laws, to purge the budget of development favoritism and as much as possible apportion next year’s spending to all districts in a fair manner,” he said.
When sought for comment, Alvarez said he has no idea of Andaya’s allegation regarding the DPWH funds allocated for his district since he has not seen the National Expenditure Program (NEP) nor has he attended any budget hearing at the House.
“I don’t know with him. I have not attended a single budget hearing. I have not even seen the NEP,” Alvarez said.
Alvarez added that the preparation of the NEP is solely an executive function.
Farinas, meanwhile, also has no knowledge of the allocation for his district, noting that everything listed therein was in the NEP submitted by the President.
“I left the Majority two days after the SONA (State of the Nation Address) when I joined the Minority, and there is no way I could have added anything to it. I did not attend any budget hearing since then as I was on medical leave starting Sept. 15 when I suffered injuries from Typhoon Ompong,” Farinas told reporters in a group message.
“But I will not be surprised if the amount is accurate since my district has one of the longest national highways in the country from Laoag to the boundary of Cagayan province. The bridge alone for the Laoag-Bacarra bypass road is about PHP1 billion (multi-year allocations),” he added.
Earlier, Senator Panfilo Lacson disclosed that a male lawmaker from Camarines Sur got at least PHP1.9 billion and Pampanga’s second district received PHP2.4 billion worth of congressional insertions.
Andaya represents the first district of Camarines Sur, while Arroyo represents the second district of Pampanga.
Arroyo admitted that she felt unfairly criticized when she was singled out for getting supposedly the lion’s share in the allocations per district under the national budget for next year.
“There were 60 to 90 more who got bigger than my district,” Arroyo said.
“Yes, yes (I feel criticized). Why should I deprive the people of my district? I’m only upper middle class as far as the allocations are concerned,” she added. (PNA)
De Lima slams Duterte for linking her to pork barrel scam
By Azer N. Parrocha