Senate leaders say no need for House to recall budget

MANILA, Philippines — There is no need for the House of Representatives to recall its 2027 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) in response to a recent Supreme Court decision which declared as unconstitutional key provisions of the 2024 to 2026 national budgets, according to two Senate leaders.

Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said the high court’s Oct. 20 ruling could pertain to only a few provisions in the House version of the current GAB.

“We are entering the budget consolidation here so we can do the correction ourselves. So that the budget process will not be delayed, we will correct it here,” he said in an interview.

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READ: 2027 budget: Tiangco wants House to undergo scrutiny

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But the Makabayan bloc in the House urged that chamber to recall its approved budget, saying some provisions which the high court declared as unconstitutional can be found there.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson, however, said the House and the Senate will still reconcile disagreeing provisions in the budget at the bicameral conference committee.

“They should address their concerns in the House, because their colleagues will be the members of the bicam after the Senate passes our version,” he said in a separate interview.

Lacson also warned that recalling the already approved GAB may result in a reenacted budget, where no new programs and projects are itemized for 2027.

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“That is not the solution. The solution is for the Senate to really scrutinize and cut all the fat in the GAB that the House sent,” he said.

Lacson also said he hoped the House will follow the Senate’s example of lowering its proposed budget of P7.7 billion next year by P2 billion.

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“The Senate President and I, as chairman of the committee on accounts, agreed the other day that we will reduce the Senate budget by about P2 billion from the NEP (National Expenditure Program), just to set the example or set the trend for the House to follow because [it] added P5 billion [to its budget],” Lacson said—as he noted the increase in the lower chamber’s budget in the GAB from P17.6 billion to P22.6 billion. INQ