Too big to rush: Zarate warns vs railroading passage of P5T budget for 2022

By Billy Begas

Officials of Bayan Muna on Tuesday said that the P5.024 trillion national budget for 2022 “belatedly submitted” to Congress should be scrutinized and not railroaded.

House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate said the proposed budget “is not an ordinary measure where the process can be short circuited or taken via shortcuts.”

“We cannot sacrifice the quality of analyzing it even if they submitted it just yesterday because it will mean surrendering outright Congress’ power of the purse,” Zarate said.

The 2022 budget is the biggest budget in the government’s history, 11.5% higher than the P4.5 trillion budget this year. It was submitted almost a month after the final State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Rodrigo Duterte on July 26.

However, the Executive department is allowed to submit the budget within a month after SONA.

Congress will have its break on October 1, the first day of filing of Certificate of Candidacy (COC). This gives the House of Representatives 38 days to finish the budget until September 30, its target date.

“Congress should conduct full and transparent deliberations of the budget because if this one passes as is, then the people would also hold Congress into account for being a rubber stamp of Malacanang,” Zarate pointed out.

Zarate also underscored the need to scrutinize what happened to the 2020 national budget especially the P200 billion unobligated allotment and P62.1 billion unreleased appropriations.

“This is scandalous, even anomalous, when many people are in dire need for ayuda or aid while they are forced to stay at home without jobs or income, during different levels of lockdowns,” he added.

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Source: Latest Politics News Today (Politics.com.ph)