MANILA, Philippines — The leadership of the House of Representatives has retained Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles as chairman of the committee on appropriations, the panel that scrutinizes the annual budget.
There have been speculations that Nograles would be replaced after he refused the request of Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. on Monday for him to sign a revised committee report reflecting at least P52 billion in realignments of pork barrel funds supposedly “parked” in the budget by certain influential administration officials and lawmakers.
The hidden pork barrel funds, which House leaders have discovered, amounted to P55 billion. They were spread in at least 40 congressional districts. Nograles did not touch them because they were part of President Duterte’s budget proposal.
House leaders did not start budget deliberations until they cleared the realignments with the President. The House approved the changes on Tuesday, when it convened as an entire committee doing the job of its appropriations panel.
Nograles welcomed his chamber’s leaders’ decision to realign P52 billion, saying it augmented funds for agencies whose funding had been cut by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) due to its new cash-based budgeting policy.
He said among the agencies that lost funds in the DBM-Palace version of the budget were the Departments of Education and Health.
He said the reductions meant fewer classrooms and health centers.
People would not accept this scenario at a time when they have been paying higher fuel taxes under the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law, Nograles said.
He also insisted that the proposed 2019 budget does not contain pork barrel funds.
“We stick by the position that it is impossible for any insertions to be done in the NEP (National Expenditure Program) because that purely comes from the executive department. If you ask the DBM, if you ask the economic managers, if you ask Malacañang, they’re also sticking by the position that this is the executive branch’s budget,” Nograles said.
The NEP is the President’s version of the budget. The House version is an appropriations bill, which becomes the budget law when approved by Congress and signed by the President.
Nograles said all appropriations itemized in the NEP “were the result of a consultation process that involved regional development councils (RDCs) and the local government officials and legislators that comprise the RDCs.”
“Every region has its RDC, where you have different regional directors meeting together with governors, mayors, congressmen to propose the projects that are good for the districts. And then the RDCs submit all of these to the DBM,” he said.
Nograles plans to run for senator in next year’s elections. Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte has endorsed his candidacy.
Two House members – Edgar Erice of Caloocan City and Antonio Tinio of Alliance of Concerned Teachers – have blamed the DBM for the P55-billion “pork” insertions.
“Why did the DBM allow it when it is supposed to be pushing for budget reforms?” Erice asked.
He lauded Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and other House leaders for deciding to realign P52 billion.
Tinio said the missing P3 billion would be realigned as well to social services.