Cayetano assures House will pass P4.5-T 2021 national budget

Speaker Alan Cayetano vowed that the House of Representatives would not hold the passage of the proposed P4.5-trillion 2021 national budget or give in to requests for pork barrel funds.

“Kaisa kami ni Martin na lahat ng representatives na merong concern, kahit isang constituent lang, they can talk to us. But there will be no blackmailing. There will be no hostage taking. There will be no moves that will force us na pumayag ng pork, parking or corruption,” Cayetano said Wednesday, referring to House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez of Leyte.

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“Doon sa nangangailangan at may problema ang constituents, kaya kami nandito ni Martin precisely, para makatulong sa bawat distrito at bawat sektor sa ating party-list. So please pray for us and please pray for this budget na kung survival tayo ng 2020, we can have a progressive budget for 2021 that will be a stepping stone to great things in the future,” Cayetano added.

Senate Minority Franklin  said Monday the “” in the  may delay the passage of the P4.5 trillion proposed 2021 national budget.

Also read: ‘Supermajority’ of lawmakers still wants Cayetano as Speaker – Villafuerte

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Cayetano assures House will pass P4.5-T 2021 national budget

“Certainly, a power struggle in the House will affect our timelines, and I hope not because we’re still in the middle of a pandemic. We have about 10% unemployment [rate], we’re expected to have a contraction in our economy, so a delay in the budget would be critical,” Drilon said in an interview on ANC.

Drilon said the disagreement between the lawmakers is due to the “lack of transparency in the allocation” of projects under the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Last week, Negros Oriental Representative Arnolfo Teves Jr. and Deputy Speaker Luis Raymund Villafuerte argued over infrastructure funds allocated to some districts.

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Teves questioned the P8 billion allocations for Taguig City, where Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano serves and P11.8 billion for Camarines Sur under Villafuerte.

Villafuerte dismissed said Teves’ claims is only a “sinister ploy” by Marinduque Representative Lord Allan Velasco‘s supporters to derail the Congress’ plan to finish the 2021 national budget deliberations by the end of September.