MANILA – Malacañang sees no reason for a possible delay in the passage of the proposed 2021 national budget despite the early suspension of the plenary session at the House of Representatives, said spokesperson Harry Roque.
According to Roque, the third and final reading passage of the proposed budget on Nov. 16 would just be a formality following second reading approval of congressmen on Tuesday.
“I don’t think it will have any effect on passing the budget on time, because they have passed it on second reading,” Roque told CNN Philippines’ The Source.
“This is the first budget that has built in measures intended to respond to COVID-19, and that’s why this is probably the most important budget the president has proposed to houses of Congress,” he added.
House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano on Tuesday moved to approve the 2021 national spending plan on second reading despite many departments and agencies whose proposed budgets are still up for deliberation.
Even during the break, Cayetano said lawmakers will still discuss the budget with various department secretaries, and a small group of lawmakers would accept committee and individual amendments to the budget bill.
“We will be working, we will not be taking a break and on Nov. 16, we will be voting on third reading,” Cayetano said. “Before that, meron nang consent nung mga majority ng kongresista dahil ipapakita ko sa kanila isa-isa at ‘yung budget.”
The House had originally targeted the budget approval on second reading this Friday and the final on Oct. 14 before the supposed break of the Congress.
But with Cayetano and his allies calling for an early session suspension, there will only be a one-day delay on Nov. 17 before the House can transmit the 2021 national budget to the Senate.
Next year’s budget is expected to fund measures aimed at improving the country’s healthcare system, ensuring food security, increasing investments in public and digital infrastructure and helping communities cope with the COVID-19 pandemic./PN
