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THE
House leadership said Sunday it will give “highest
priority” to the proposed P1.2-trillion General
Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2008 when Malacañang submits
on Wednesday what Congress described as the biggest in
the nation’s history, with “many substantial elements in
capital expenditures.”
As
Congress prepares to accept the GAA, the House
leadership has nominated Lakas Rep. Edcel Lagman of
Albay and Liberal Party Rep. Junie Cua of Quirino to
head the House Committee on Appropriations on a
term-sharing agreement.
House
Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. said over the weekend that
the two senior lawmakers will serve one after the other,
with Lagman possibly serving the first 18 months.
De
Venecia described both Lagman and Cua as “highly
regarded and thoroughly competent.”
“With
them heading the appropriations panel, the House will be
ready to tackle the national budget, which has the
highest priority in the agenda of Congress,” said de
Venecia.
The
term-sharing scheme for the powerful appropriations
panel in the House happened during the 13th Congress
when then Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., now budget secretary,
and then Rep. Joey Salceda served as head of the
committee on a rotating basis. Both Andaya and Salceda
are now part of the Palace’s economic team.
With the
P1.2-trillion proposed national budget for next year,
some legislators have expressed hope they would also get
a “fair share” of their Priority Development Assistance
Fund, or pork barrel.
But for
Lakas Rep. Monico Puentevella of Bacolod City, a member
of the appropriations panel, the P70- million regular
pork for each congressman “is enough and good enough.”
“There’s no need to increase it. We can live with what
we have now,” Puentevella said.
Lakas
Rep. Prospero Nograles of Davao City favors the increase
of the pork barrel, saying it will be their constituents
who will benefit more.
“If
every district gets additional projects identified by
legislators, why not? The projects go directly to the
community anyway. More roads more bridges, more
classrooms, medicines and day care centers will be
okay,” said Nograles.
The 2008
GAA is significantly higher than the P1.126-trillion
national budget for 2007 that features a pared-down
allocation for debt service. |
