GMA not keen on calling special session for 2002 budget

President Arroyo said yesterday she is not keen on calling for a special session in case Congress fails to pass the national budget for 2002.

"I will just have to live with the 2000 budget until Congress passes a budget for 2002," Mrs. Arroyo said.

At the House, a key leader warned the nation yesterday that Congress may not be able to approve the proposed P781-billion 2002 budget before yearend.

"Congress will adjourn in a week but the appropriations bill is still laboring through the Senate’s scrutiny, thus making the prospect of passing the budget in time very bleak," said Rep. Rodolfo Albano (Lakas, Isabela).

At the Senate, opposition Sen. Blas Ople appealed to his colleagues in the chamber to wrap up the budget debates before going on their Christmas break on Dec. 22 and present an approved financial measure to the Filipino people as Congress’ gift to them.

"All valiant efforts will come to naught if we cannot produce an approved budget before the recess," Ople said.

If Congress fails to approve the proposed budget for next year, the President told Palace reporters her administration will have to make do in the meantime with the 2000 General Appropriations Act.

"I’m not inclined to call for a special session unless the congressmen and senators themselves recommend to me that I should," she pointed out, even as her spokesman had earlier said she was appealing for a speedy passage of the measure because it would impact on her anti-poverty programs.

The House and the Senate are supposed to adjourn for their Yuletide recess Thursday next week.

Albano, one of the 12 representatives of the House in the Commission on Appointments, said "it will be a huge embarrassment for Congress and President Arroyo if we fail to pass the budget."

He lamented that there is an "apparent dissonance in resolve and coordination" between the legislature and Malacañang on the approval of the annual budget bill.

Some administration officials "are afflicted with the 2004 syndrome that is unfocusing their attention and unhinging their sense of duty to address matters affecting the welfare of our people like the national budget," he said.

Albano said a crisis could develop if Congress fails to approve the proposed 2002 budget.

He pointed out that with the legislature’s failure to enact the 2001 budget submitted by then President Joseph Estrada, the 2000 budget was automatically reenacted pursuant to the Constitution.

Thus, the nation is functioning on the basis of last year’s outlay and a supplemental appropriation Congress enacted in July to cover increases in the salaries of government workers, he said.

"If the House and the Senate fail again to approve the annual budget, what budget will be deemed reenacted – the 2000 outlay which is no longer needed and has served its purpose?" he asked.

He suggested that in such an event, the President should call Congress to a special session to approve the budget.

He also urged the Senate to expedite action on the measure.

He said Sen. John Henry Osmeña, finance committee chairman, is apparently wavering in his sponsorship of the appropriations bill.

This could further delay discussions on and the approval of the budget, he said.

Ople, meanwhile, disclosed the Senate and the House would have to form a bicameral conference committee to reconcile differences between the versions of the two chambers.

The consolidated version as ratified by both chambers will then go to the President for signing into law.

Senators earlier agreed to set aside politics and work double time to pass the proposed budget for 2002 to help the ailing economy.

Senate President Franklin Drilon said the budget would be crucial for the country’s survival next year because of worldwide economic crisis brought about by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the United States.

Senators have suspended regular sessions to pave the way for budget hearings and deliberations.

However, lack of time is perceived by some to be a stumbling block to the prompt passage of the money measure.

The legislators still have four days to work on the budget and if they do not finish, Drilon said it would be the third time that Congress failed to pass the budget.

The Senate has adopted very few pieces of legislation since the 12th Congress opened in July. – Marichu Villanueva, Jess Diaz, Aurea Calica