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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Solons, DOTr execs soldier through 13-hour budget hearing; here's what happened

Solons, DOTr execs soldier through 13-hour budget hearing; here's what happened

Published Sep 5, 2023 12:47 am

At A Glance

  • The budget hearing of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) before the Committee on Appropriations lasts 13 hours and 10 minutes, making it the longest budget hearing so far this year in the House of Representatives.

IMG-9d0819d63734891bfc78a10178ac0554-V-01.jpegHouse of Representatives (Ellson Quismorio/ MANILA BULLETIN)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thirteen hours and 10 minutes. 

That's how long the House Committee on Appropriations' deliberation on the Department of Transportation's (DOTr) P214-billion proposed budget for 2024 lasted on Monday, Sept. 4. 

This made it the longest hearing so far in the House panel's ongoing scrutinization of the P5.768-trillion National Expenditure Program (NEP) for next year. 

The erstwhile longest budget discussion was that of the Department of Agriculture (DA) last week, which lasted 11 hours and 15 minutes.  

As if the panel had anticipated that the DOTr budget hearing would be a marathon, no other agency was slated for budget deliberation Monday. 

The hearing began earlier than expected at 9:17 a.m., with DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista leading the agency's budget presentation. 

However, Bautista had to be excused by the congressmen just before noon as he was part of President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr.'s delegation to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia. 

This left the transportation undersecretaries and the heads of the different attached agencies to fend for themselves amid the solons' interpellations, i.e. grilling. 

The hearing had a lot of heated moments, as several solons took to task the agencies for their perceived missteps and shortcomings. 

These include Gabriela Party-list Rep. Arlene Brosas turning emotional when she shared to the appropriations panel the plight of fishermen in Oriental Mindoro whose livelihood were lost following the massive oil spill caused by MT Princess Empress in February 2023. Brosas claimed the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) prematurely ending its coastal clean-up. 

Misamis Oriental 2nd district Rep. Yevgeny Emano also blasted the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) for neglecting the Laguindingan Airport, the main gateway to Northern Mindanao that serves the cities of Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, and Marawi, as well as the provinces of Misamis Oriental, Lanao del Norte, and Bukidnon. 

Emano--who raised his voice several times during interpellation--said the sorry state of the international airport makes makes him feel that Mindanaoans like him were "second-class citizens". 

Another Mindanaoan in Cagayan de Oro 2nd district Rep. Rufus Rodriguez agreed with Emano's points and wondered why the airport was in such bad condition despite past allocation of funds. 

He was also very upset with the reported removal of "top performing" regional officials of the DOTr, and threatened to defer the agency's budget because of it. A deferral of the budget would reset the discussion back to square one at a later date. 

Fortunately for the DOTr, Rodriguez had been appeased by the third round of questioning and did not pursue the deferral. He was also the final interpellator. 

Appropriations committee Vice Chairperson Iloilo 1st district Rep. Janette Garin was the one who moved for the termination of the DOTr budget hearing at around 10:30 p.m. This paves the way for the plenary approval of DOTr's 2024 budget later this month. 

"Before we suspend [the budget hearings]," Senior Vice Chairperson Marikina City 2nd district Rep. Stella Quimbo told the DOTr officials, "We will schedule another meeting before the plenary. As you can see, masyadong naging blockbuster hit kayong lahat (your hearing was a blockbuster hit)." 

Quimbo implied that the pre-plenary debate meeting was meant to better prepare the appropriations panel members in defending the agency's budget. 

"So we will call you again for another meeting with the different parties right before the plenary debates. So sometime before Sept. 18," she said.

Related Tags

Department of Transportation national expenditure program
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