Philippines: House, Senate observe ‘ceasefire’ on 2020 budget

  • Leaders of the Senate and House of Representatives have agreed to a “ceasefire” on their altercation about alleged pork barrel insertions in the proposed 2020 budget, Senate Majority Leader Juan Miguel Zubiri said.
  • “We agreed to have a ceasefire because individual members of the Senate and the House (of Representatives) who criticize one another do not represent the institution,” said Zubiri, who met House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez on 25 Sep 19 evening.
  • “I’m hoping cooler heads will prevail and no further comment would be made on this particular issue,” he added of the ceasefire widely seen as a bid among Congress leaders to avoid a repeat of 2018’s delay in the budget’s approval.
  • The House also formed a committee that would accept amendments to the proposed PHP4.1tr budget after the third reading approval, a process objected to by Sen. Panfilo Lacson and one that Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon found “totally anomalous.”

External Link : https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1170141/house-senate-observe-ceasefire-on-2020-budget

27-Sep-2019