The Lower House's deliberations on the 2022 national budget won’t be delayed by the adverse findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) against various government agencies, the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations assured on Wednesday, August 25.
“‘Yung COA andyan talaga ‘yan para bantayan, i-audit ‘yung mga agencies, so kung may nakikita silang irregular pwede nang i-file sa Ombudsman ‘yung kaso. Pero ang sa atin, hindi dapat ito maging dahilan para ma-delay ang budget (The COA is there to check, to audit the agencies, so if they see irregularities, they can file a case in the Ombudsman. For our part, this should not be a reason to delay the budget),” committee chairman and ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Eric Go Yap said during the virtual Ugnayan sa Batasan news forum.
Yap said the chamber only has 35 days --- the shortest period to date --- to pass the General Appropriations Bill (GAB), and they won’t able to do so if they break down every COA report on government agencies.
“At the end of the day, the people of the Philippines ang matatalo ‘pag hindi naipasa ang budget (will lose if the budget is not passed),” he said.
Yap said it’s important that the 2022 national budget be enacted before the end of 2021, saying it will serve as the “road to recovery” for the country.
The congressman also cited the urgency and importance of enacting next year’s national budget before the end of 2021.
“We cannot afford a re-enacted budget...Ito ‘yung tutugon sa pangagailangan natin sa pandemic sa 2022 (This will be the answer to our pandemic needs in 2022),” he said.
The Lower House will begin its deliberations on the proposed P5.024-trillion 2022 national budget will begin on Thursday, Aug. 26.