The House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday ended the budget briefing for the Office of the President in under an hour, with no questions asked — leaving intact some P4 billion in confidential and intelligence funds comprising almost half of its P10.7 billion budget.

After Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin delivered his opening presentation as head of the Office of the President's delegation, Abra Rep. Ching Bernos moved to end the budget deliberation, which is tantamount to committee approval of their budget.

This began an intense exchange among lawmakers, as Bernos moved to terminate the budget hearing "as part of our long standing tradition and practice of the House of Representatives and the committee on the appropriations to extend parliamentary courtesy" to the Office of the President.

Members of the Makabayan bloc tried to object. But Minority Leader Marcelino Libanan asked that they be allowed to manifest their positions in exchange for withdrawing their objection against the termination of the budget deliberation. 

Appropriations Committee Senior Vice Chair Stella Quimbo allowed the minority bloc members to have 2 minutes each to make their points.

"Is it possible that we first terminate or approve the budget of the Office of the President before any manifestations will be allowed?" Deputy Speaker Isidro Ungab, a former chair of the committee said to hasten the proceedings.

The panel suspended the session, which was reopened minutes later by Quimbo to say that the termination is carried.

"I will rule first on the pending motion. The objection has been withdrawn and therefore the motion to terminate the budget briefing of the Office of the President is hereby approved," Quimbo said.

But Kabataan Rep. Raoul Manuel, a member of the Makabayan, noted: "No, madame chair naghabol po ako ng objection ko doon sa motion to terminate hindi pwede mag-terminate tayo ng deliberations habang hindi nagiging part ng records."

"Point of Order, there was a motion, it was seconded and the chair ruled. The objection came after the ruling I think but I leave it to the chair to decide," Ungab said.

Manuel said that while there was a point of order where the objection was withdrawn, lawmakers had yet to decide on the motion to terminate the budget hearing. 

"Naghabol ako ng objection. I don't believe that it is proper for us to terminate the deliberations nang hindi nagiging part ng records ng House yung magiging manifestations meron pong difference," Manuel said. 

"Even if we look at the records, even if we replay the tapes, the objection came after the ruling the original objection of Cong. Castro was withdrawin so I think the ruling of the chair would hold," Ungab said. 

RAILROADING? 

Manuel flagged the panel for allegedly railroading the budget deliberations.

"Ni-rerailroad po natin ang deliberations again. We should give members the right and the time na maghabol ng kanilang mga objections. Di pwede again na minamadali natin ito. Office of the President yung budget na pinag-uusapan," Manuel said.

The Makabayan bloc lawmakers also slammed their colleagues for invoking parliamentary courtesy.

They also flagged the increase in confidential and intelligence funds (CIF) and their expansion to other agencies which didn't historically have those funds in the past.

"May trend ng papalaking CIF: Lolobo ito ng P120 million mula sa kasalukuyang taon, at mula P8.69 billion sa nakaraang administrasyon," said ACT Teachers party-list Rep. France Castro. 

"Ang pinakamataas na opisyal ay siya ring may pinakamalaking tagong pondo na bawat audit, walang public accounting, wala ni isang segundo man lang ng paliwanag kung paano ginastos at gagastusin," she added.

Castro said the trend should not continue because it violates policies on transparency and public disclosure. 

The Makabayan lawmakers appealed for all confidential and intelligence funds to be junked and channeled instead for health, education, and public services instead.

Full story here: https://tinylinkurl.com/House-panel-OKs-Marcos-office-039;s-budget