SEN. Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday night flagged P147.283-billion in duplicate projects under the proposed P686.1-billion budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways for next year.
During the plenary discussions on DPWH’s budget, Lacson pointed out that similar projects but with different budget appropriations appear under the Sustainable Infrastructure Projects Alleviating Gaps (SIPAG) and the Basic Infrastructure Program (BIP) of the agency’s Convergence and Special Support Program.
Lacson said the total amount of duplicate projects is P110.118 billion under SIPAG and P37.164 billion under BIP. The senator stressed the DPWH should distinguish between projects under the SIPAG and BIP with similar descriptions because “if the projects under SIPAG and BIP are identical, why do we need to have two separate sub-programs?”
The duplicate projects include roads leading to strategic public buildings worth P47.976 billion under SIPAG and P10.22 billion under BIP, flood mitigating structures costing P38.6 billion under SIPAG and P6.37 billion under BIP, roads that traverse multiple local government units at P11.8 billion in SIPAG and P1.5 billion under BIP, multi-purpose buildings at P9.6 billion under SIPAG and P17.2 billion under BIP, coastal roads or causeways priced at P1.842 billion under SIPAG and P215 million under BIP, and roads leading to indigenous peoples communities worth P253 million in SIPAG and P1.6 billion under BIP.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar and Apo Marketing Unit Incorporated sales marketing manager Dominic Tajon yesterday apologized to senators for the latter’s “inappropriate behavior” during the hybrid deliberations on the proposed 2022 budget of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) on Monday night.
Andanar, in a radio interview, said he sent Tajon’s written apology and explanation to the Senate, along with the PCOO’s own apology, which was accepted by the senators. He said the PCOO is investigating Tajon’s action, and if found culpable of any wrongdoing, “we will enforce pertinent disciplinary actions.”
Tajon was censured by senators on Monday night after he was seen drinking an alcoholic drink during the online budget hearing. In his letter, Tajon said the liquid in the goblet from which he drank was not alcoholic drink, but only water.
The Senate on Tuesday night closed the period of interpellation on the proposed P5.024 trillion national budget for 2022. Senate President Vicente Sotto III said approval of the measure on second and third reading is set next week.
“By December 1, hopefully, as far as the Senate is concerned,” Sotto said in an interview with CNN Philippines. The Senate ended the budget deliberations on time despite a four-day delay following the suspension of sessions to allow senators and Senate staff to go on self-quarantine after a swab test done on Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana initially yielded a positive result a day after he attended the plenary discussions on the proposed budget of the Department of National Defense budget.
He tested negative after a confirmatory test. Sotto said amendments to the proposed budget will be made before the measure is passed on second and third reading, after which the Senate delegates to the bicameral conference committee will be named. “Our prediction is that the bicam between the House and the Senate would take about seven to 10 days. That would mean by December 10 or 11 at the most, we would already be ratifying the bicameral conference committee report,” he said.
After the ratification, the reconciled version of the budget measure or the General Appropriations Bill will be transmitted to President Duterte for his final approval. This, he said, will give the President enough time to review the budget bill before December 17 “if he plans to sign it by December 17.”
Congress will adjourn its sessions for the holidays starting December 19 and will resume on January 18 next year. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
