Duterte certifies passage of P4.1 trillion budget in 2020 as urgent

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte certified as urgent the passage of the proposed P4.1 trillion budget for next year to ensure the timely implementation of the spending program.

"Yes certified already. We learned lessons from last year," Presidential Legislative Liaison Office chief Adelino Sitoy said in a text message Wednesday.

READ: No insertions in House version of 2020 budget, Salceda says

Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea confirmed the certification in a separate text message.

If the president certifies a bill as urgent, it would not be covered by a rule which states that a measure can only be passed on final reading three days after its approval on second reading.

A letter sent to the House of Representatives and the Senate showed that Duterte certified the measure as urgent last September 17.

In the letter, Duterte said the certification was made to address the need to maintain continuous government operations and to ensure "budgetary preparedness that will enable the government to effectively perform its constitutional mandate."  

READ: Speaker vows no delay in 2020 budget approval

The passage of this year's P3.757-trillion national budget was delayed because of the bickering between House and Senate leaders over the last-minute insertions in the spending bills.

Because of the delay, Duterte was only able to sign the 2019 budget in April, forcing the government to operate on a reenacted outlay in the first quarter.

The delayed implementation of the 2019 budget was blamed for the slower economic growth in the first three months.

The growth of the country's gross domestic product, the sum total of all goods and services produced in an economy, slowed to 5.6% in the first quarter, slower than the 6.5% growth posted in the same period last year and the revised 6.3 percent growth in the fourth quarter of the same year.