Monoav/Aucusr 5,2oLg
WWW.INQUIRER.NET
of 2O2Obudgethearings
By DJ Yap
@qeelsulN-q-
The House of Representatives
will "find ways to expedite" the
passage of the zozo spending
bill to prevent a repeat of last
year's monthslong delay, the
chair of the House appropria-
tions panel said on Sunday.
Such steps include marathon
hearings and a strict adherence
to House rules in committee and
plenary debates, according to
Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab.
"We will inrmediately start
hearings and/or briefings as
soon as the National Expendi-
ture Program (NEP) is submit-
ted to Congress," he said, refer-
ring to the President's budget,
or the first draft of the appro'
priations rneasure.
No timeline
The,executive branch is ex-
pected to submit the proposed
budget this month, subject to
deliberation and approval by
both houses of Congress.
"We will find wdys to expe-
dite... There ar€ rules to follow
in the budget process, and if
strictly observed, we can avoid
a repeat of what happened last
year," Ungab told the Inquirer.
He did not give a,timeline
as to when the budget would
o
FA w -Ac2a
be approved.
"That will be decided as sobn
as we reqeive the NEP. It is usu-
ally discussed together with the
House leadership," Ungab said.
Deputy Speaker Luis Ray-
mund Villafi-lerte Jr. earlier said
the House would "most likely"
pass the budget proposal be-
fore Congress takes a break in
,late October, giving the Senate
enough time to approve its
own version by December.
The target, according to the
Camarines Sur lawmaker, is for
the two chambers to ratify a those of favored lawmakers.'
consolidated bill for submis-
sion to President Duterte be-
fore the end ofzorg.
The passage of this year's
P3.7-tritlion budget was de-
layed by several months in zorS
and early 2019 as a result of po-
litical infighting between the
Senate and the House, forcing
the government to operate on a
reenacted budget for the first
four months of the year.
Senate, House row
Senate leaders had accused
the House of realigning public
works and health facilities
funds from certain districts to
. House leaders, however,
said they only itemized all
lump-sum items. Ne.