Malacañang is poised to certify the need for Congress to urgently pass the P3.1-trillion 2016 national budget bill, even as Congress is set to go on a three-week recess in the midst of budget deliberations starting this weekend.
Under the approved congressional calendar, members of the Senate and the House of Representatives are scheduled to take a break from October 10 to November 2 and will only resume regular sessions to tackle the budget bill and other pending matters on November 3 until they adjourn anew on December 18, when lawmakers go on traditional Christmas vacation.
“I know we’ve always certified the NEP,” Palace Deputy Spokesman Abigail Valte said, referring to the proposed National Expenditure Program, also known as the 2016 budget bill.
Asked if the Palace was ready to issue the certification as requested by the House before the upcoming congessional recess, Valte asked for time to first consult Budget Secretary Florencio B. Abad, even as she recalled that the Palace usually does this in previous budget bills.
She also could not say if the Palace would issue the certification before Congress goes on recess this weekend.
Such a Palace certification on the urgency of passing a pending bill allows the measure to be approved on second and third reading in one sitting, or on the same session day.
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Imagine that amount 3.1 Trillion pesos. And yet Noynoy and co-plunderers in Congress cannot find savings of 30 billion pesos that will be needed kuno for the lowering of income taxes. This Noynoy and his KKK are really thick-faced and just plain world-class thieves and plunderers. Now they want their money before Christmas. The same money paid for by the blood sweat and tears of million of salaried workers.