It took only three minutes for the House of Representatives to terminate the budget deliberation for the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) out of courtesy for their former colleague, former Manila 3rd District Rep. Zenaida Angping, who is now the PMS chief.
Angping’s presence was acknowledged on the floor as House Minority Leader 4PS Party-list Rep. Marcelino Libanan and Senior Deputy Majority Leader Ilocos Norte 1st District Rep. Sandro Marcos recognized that there were no interpellation from the majority and minority.
Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co, the chairman of the House Appropriations Committee and the sponsor of the PMS’ P863.69-million proposed budget for 2023, was also in attendance.
During the Wednesday, Sept. 28 plenary session, Libanan stated that there was no one from the minority who wanted to interpellate.
“Mr. Speaker, it appears that nobody from the office of the minority would like to interpellate the budget of the Office of the Presidential Management Staff. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I move that we terminate the interpellation on the budget of the PMS. So move, Mr. Speaker,” the lawmaker said as the audience applauded.
The motion was seconded by Marcos, who represented the majority group in the House of Representatives.
“Mr. Speaker, there being no interpellation from the part of the majority, the majority is one with the minority with their motion to terminate the deliberations on the proposed budget of PMS,” Marcos told his colleagues.
The lawmakers then congratulated Angping and Co for the immediate termination of the budget deliberation, as the Lower Chamber moved to finish all budget debates on Wednesday.
Of the P863.69-million proposed budget by the PMS, together with the P19.37 million from automatic appropriations, P289.09 million will go to personnel services, P461.75 million for maintenance and other operating expenses, and P132.23 million for capital outlay.