Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, October 8) — Malacañang will not call for a special session of Congress anytime soon despite an apparent delay in the 2021 budget approval process, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said Thursday.
He said the Palace rejected suggestions for President Rodrigo Duterte to summon a special session days after House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano suspended plenary proceedings until November 16, leaving the ₱4.5 trillion spending plan hanging amid a power struggle for the speakership.
“Mataas ang kumpiyansa ng Palasyo na may sapat pang panahon para magtapos ang deliberations kaya walang dahilan para ito ay ma-delay [The Palace is confident that there’s still enough time to finish deliberations and that there’s no reason for the budget to be delayed],” Roque said in a media briefing.
“Meron naman pong December 14 na adjournment for Christmas ang Kongreso. Kung talagang kinakailangan, after the 14th, doon po magpapatawag ng special session [There’s the December 14 adjournment of Congress for the Christmas season. If needed, we can call for a special session after the 14th],” he added.
In a surprise move, Cayetano interrupted plenary debates on the budget bill and asked the chamber to approve the measure on second reading. He then said that “small committees” will process amendments to the measure, but did not say when the third and final reading vote will take place.
The House earlier planned to approved the measure on third reading before taking a break on October 16.
This comes in the middle of an unfolding drama between him and Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco and the fate of their term-sharing deal, which was supposed to kick in this month. Both were insisting to take the prime seat. Cayetano has so far managed to stay in power and has sacked committee chairpersons who have backed his rival.
Senate President Tito Sotto III has called out Cayetano for causing delay in the passage of the budget, which carries provisions sustaining funding for additional COVID-19 response and subsidies to hard-hit sectors.
Other lawmakers have accused Cayetano, who was Duterte’s running mate in the 2016 polls, of holding the budget hostage.
However, Roque cited Supreme Court decisions which state that the Senate can proceed with its own budget talks to beat the December deadline for its passage, or else the 2020 budget may have to be reenacted. This could be a real danger for the fate coronavirus response programs, and could drill the economy deeper into recession instead of an expected lift-off.
The House and Senate must pass their own versions of the spending plan and have them reconciled through a bicameral committee before it can be endorsed for Duterte’s signing into law before January 1, 2021.
“Hindi po dapat maging dahilan ng pag-aantala ng national budget itong nangyari sa Kamara [The national budget cannot be interrupted by recent events in the House],” Roque insisted.
He then recognized a “gray area” as to whether the Senate can tackle the budget at the plenary if the House has not passed it on final reading. As a rule, the budget as well as tax measures must first be tackled by the House.
READ: Cayetano, Velasco insist on marking their birthdays as Speaker in term-sharing deal
