House approves Palace, Vice President budgets

MANILA, Philippines - The House appropriations committee approved yesterday the 2010 budgets of the Office of the President (OP) and the Office of the Vice President (OVP) in full and without question.

Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, senior vice chairman of the committee, told reporters that the budgets of the two offices were immediately approved following tradition and out of courtesy to President Arroyo and Vice President Noli de Castro.

He said his colleagues may raise questions about the OP and OVP budgets when the House tackles the proposed P1.541-trillion 2010 national budget in plenary.

“The hearing on the budget presentation of the OP and OVP were dispensed with. As a matter of tradition, we extend courtesy to these high offices and that is the reason why the process is that fast,” committee chairman Junie Cua told reporters. 

“The process doesn’t end in the committee. There are still sub-committee and plenary debates,” Cua said.

“There are also executive meetings for further study of the budget. We will do these before we submit a committee report,” he added.

Rep. Teodoro Casiño, who came late for yesterday’s hearing, said he would reserve his questions for the plenary deliberations. Vice President de Castro was not present during the hearing.

Casiño said he would grill OP representatives about President Arroyo’s frequent foreign trips and how much had been spent for these travels.

“I also want to know who really paid for the trip of congressmen who accompanied her in her recent visit to the United States and who paid for those expensive dinners in New York City and Washington DC,” he said.

He pointed out that up to now, more than one month after Mrs. Arroyo’s entourage returned to the country, no one knows who shouldered the expenses of the 28 House members who accompanied the President.

He noted a statement from Susana Vargas, deputy executive secretary for finance and administration, that Malacañang took care of the expenses of only three members of the congressional delegation – Speaker Prospero Nograles and Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Lito Lapid.

At least two members of the delegation – Representatives Bienvenido Abante Jr. of Manila and Danilo Suarez of Quezon – have admitted that they did not spend for their trip and that they did not know who paid for it.

They expressed willingness to reimburse whoever shouldered their expenses, but up to now no one has come out to claim reimbursement.

Mrs. Arroyo’s US visit became controversial due to two expensive dinners her entourage enjoyed in New York and Washington, for which Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez and Suarez reportedly shelled out $35,000.

Chiz’s pa’s endorsement

It was the congressman-father of opposition Sen. Francis “Chiz” Escudero who endorsed his colleagues’ approval of the P4.26-billion budget of President Arroyo’s office in 2010.

The younger Escudero is expected to declare his presidential candidacy in October when he turns 40.

Last week, the Senate finance committee chaired by Sen. Edgardo Angara approved the OP budget ahead of its House counterpart, also without question.

The House committee on appropriations took less than five minutes to approve the OP budget, which includes the President’s travel expenses amounting to P375.02 million.

The older Escudero, along with his senator-son, belongs to the opposition bloc in the House of Representatives headed by minority leader and lone San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora.

Rumors have it that Chiz is not really a hard-core opposition member.

Without naming names, presidential son and Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo earlier lashed out at critics of his mother, saying they are secretly making back-channel efforts to benefit from the government’s vast machinery.

Sen. Escudero felt alluded to and denied he was secretly dealing with the administration.

He said the allegations of corruption against the President “may very well be the darkest legacy of the administration’s nine years in power.”

After Rep. Escudero, an agriculture minister during the Marcos years, moved for the immediate approval of the OP budget, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita thanked members of the Cua committee.

Palace delighted

Malacañang welcomed the swift approval of the proposed budget of the Office of the President.

Deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said members of the committee “must have seen the wisdom behind the (budget) proposal.”

He, however, conceded the OP budget might undergo closer scrutiny at plenary.

He said the Palace is aware that budget deliberations are a long process.

“At the end of the day, what’s important is they come out with a resolution (of the issues on the budget) and we can proceed from there,” Golez said.

“As of now, they understand where the funds of the Office of the President are going,” he said.

Members of the opposition have been questioning the huge discretionary and confidential funds of the Office of the President that they said can be easily used for illegal purposes. With Delon Porcalla and Paolo Romero