4/ffi*
u"-Econom
kegislator sees possible budget
approval at House by Friday
REPRXSENTATM Isidro T.
Ungab of Da!'ao Ciq/s third dis-
trict, who chairs the House Ap-
propriations committee, said the
P4.l-tdllion budget bill for zo2o
could be approved on third read-
ing by Friday.
' tional budget will ..address the
Presidbnt Rodrigo R. Duterte
certified as urgent House Bill
4228 ot t\e 2020 General Ap-
propriatiols Bill (GAB) in a Sepi.
17 letter to Spea.ker Alar peter S.
Cayetano and Senate President
Vicente C. Sotto III.
"Given ihe certification, the
P4.l-trillion budget for 2O2O may
be passed on the same diay without
waiting.for separate da,s to have it
approvld on 2 and 3.d readings,
Thus, it is possible tltat the cAB
f&aqftre.&s$brld
FRTDAY-SATURDAI
will be passed on Friday, since it
was certified as urgent " Mr Ungab
said in a phone message to Busl-
nessWorldon Thursday.
In his letter, Mr. Duterte said
that the swift passage of the na-
need to maintain continuous
government operations following
the end of the current ffscal year,
to expedile the funding ofvariots
programs, projects, and activities
for FY 2020.'
The passage of the national
budget urill also ensure ,,budget-
ary preparedness that will enable
the government to efectively per-
form its Constitutional maldate..
Rep. Jbse Ma. S. Salced4 the
House W'ays and Mearts.conrmit-
\ P,lct-.r7 7c,
SEPIE BER 20-A, Zrl9
tee chair from Alba/s 2"d district,
said the GAB faithfully adheres
to the National Expenditure pro-
gram drawn up by the executive
branch.
"Since cAB is rooqo NEq ihe
Pres[iddlt] certified it. So ure can
ap.prove budget tomorrow on B.d
(reading)," Mr. Salceda said in a
message to reporters.
He added, "This is the first
time for Pre![ident] Duterte in
four budgets to prcvide a presi-
dential certifi cation."
Rep. Martin G. Romualdez,
the Majorit5r Leader fi om Leytet
first district, said: "We, in Con-
gress, support the initiatives
of the Duterle administration
to gmpoq/er the poor through
u
increased subsidies and grants
aimed at ending the intergen-
erational cycle of poverty in the
country."
The hearings on the 2O2o bud-
get ended on Sept. 6, with plenary
debate ongoing.
The budget was originally
planned for passage on second
reading on Friday, Sept. 20 and
tlfrdreading on Oct. 4,
Last yeat's budget was delayed
because of alleged "insertions.
and the resulting disputes about
charges to the spending prosarn.
President Rodrigo R Duterte even-
tually vetoed more than P95 bil-
lion worth of spending items after
signing the measure in mid-April.
- Virce Angelo c. Ferrras