P4.506-trillion budget bill for 2021 reaches Senate

October 28 ------ The 2021 General Appropriations Bill was finally transmitted to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, more than a week ahead of the upper chamber's resumption of session on November 9. Senate Committee on Finance chairperson Sonny Angara's office informed reporters that the House-approved budget bill has been submitted to the Senate Bills and Index Service. A voluminous hard copy of the budget bill and its electronic copy were transmitted by the House. These have been turned over to the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office.

It shall be turned over to the Legislative Budget Research and Monitoring Office in a couple of minutes, it added. Earlier in the day, House Speaker Lord Allan Velasco announced that the lower chamber is transmitting the approved version of the P4.506-trillion proposed national budget for 2021 a day ahead of its promised date. Senate President Vicente Sotto III thanked Velasco for the early submission of the budget bill.

"I wish to thank and congratulate Speaker Lord Velasco for the swift transmission. It's even one day ahead of my original request that they send it on the 28th," he said in a message. "This will somehow ease the burden on us to insure the passage and signing of PRRD before Christmas." Angara likewise expressed gratitude to their House counterparts as he said that the senators will have enough time to review the amendments made to the national expenditure program.

"This shows that all the members of Congress are cognizant of the need to approve the budget on time, now more than ever because of the challenges our country is facing due to the pandemic,'' he said. Senator Panfilo Lacson was also relieved with the early transmittal of the proposed national budget. "Regardless of the constitutional issues involving the House of Representatives' version of the 2021 budget bill, it is still good that the Senate has enough time to approve our own version, leaving room for the bicameral conference and submission to the President for approval, thus avoiding a re-enacted budget," Lacson said in a separate statement.

Angara targets to sponsor the bill in plenary on November 10 because it has to be referred first to the Senate Committee on Finance when session resumes in the upper chamber on November 9. The vice chairpersons of the Committee on Finance are in the process of completing the reports which shall be consolidated before the plenary debates start, Angara said. Senators have previously worried about the possibility of having a re-enacted budget as the House Speakership row between Velasco and his predecessor Taguig-Pateros Representative Alan Peter Cayetano caused a delay in the deliberation of the budget bill in the Lower House.

Source: gmanetwork.com