Drilon, De Venecia declare truce

Senate President Franklin Drilon and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. buried the hatchet yesterday, ending a week-long word war between senators and congressmen brought about by the Senate’s hasty passage of the 2005 national budget.

After a week of bitter accusations by their colleagues, Drilon and De Venecia have now vowed to prioritize the passage of the value-added tax (VAT) reform bill, the anti-terrorism bill and other important measures pending in their chambers.

Congressmen and senators earlier called for the abolition of both chambers after lawmakers protested reports that the passage of the P907-billion national budget for 2005 last March 1 prevented them from increasing their pork barrel allocations.

Drilon and De Venecia issued a joint statement yesterday after they met Tuesday night at the Shangri-La Hotel in Makati City with House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles, Senate finance committee chairman Sen. Manuel Villar and House appropriations committee chairman Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr.

"We have decided to work on the passage of the VAT amendments before we go on the Lenten break," Drilon told reporters in an interview.

The word war between the Senate and the House of Representatives, according to Drilon, is "all over, except probably in the media."

In their joint statement, Drilon and De Venecia also agreed to "exert our utmost efforts" to secure approval of the two-phase VAT legislation before Congress goes on a three-week recess on March 18. Both chambers have given assurance that passage of the VAT measure will be their highest priority so as to achieve the government’s target of P80 billion in new revenues for 2005.

Despite the different versions of the VAT reform bill now pending in the Senate, Drilon dismissed talk that Malacañang is exerting pressure on lawmakers to expedite the passage of the bill into law.

"The VAT (reform bill) is now being debated on the floor," he said, adding that he is sure the senators will take President Arroyo’s position on the issue into consideration when they vote on the VAT amendments.

Drilon said the President is more concerned about meeting the P80-billion revenue target and has left it to lawmakers to determine which measures would best reach this target.

Drilon and De Venecia said Mrs. Arroyo is scheduled to sign the 2005 General Appropriations Act in the next few days.

"We are determined to put the budget row behind us and move on to the other remaining legislative priorities of Congress," they said.

Drilon said House and Senate leaders also agreed to act promptly on measures still pending in the two chambers.

"These will include measures that will reform the financial sector and develop the capital market; stimulate jobs and income generation; improve the peace and order situation; (and) provide better health and education services as well as ensure effective and graft-free governance," Drilon and De Venecia said.

They described the passage of the anti-terror bill into law as "vital in the nation’s security response to all acts of extremism."

De Venecia also said the bills on housing and on planting one billion trees all over the country are included in a list of measures that will be prioritized by Congress.

He and Drilon also vowed to cooperate to ensure the success of the 112th Inter-Parliamentary Union general assembly, which will be held in Manila from April 3 to 8. Lawmakers from 145 countries all over the world are set to attend the event.

Meanwhile, majority leaders of both chambers urged their colleagues to put an end to the bitter word war over the 2005 national budget.

Nograles and Senate Majority Leader Francisco Pangilinan, in a joint statement, said they would meet each month to discuss matters that develop in their respective chambers.

They noted that the impasse between the two chambers of Congress only generated negative feelings among Filipinos about politics and the legislature as an institution.

"We call on our fellow legislators to (engage in) constructive dialogue. Our people deserve results, and that is the primary reason why we serve — to deliver these results. Let us put this matter behind us and move forward to focus on serving our countrymen to the best of our ability," Nograles and Pangilinan said.