Ni NOEL ABUEL
Tinitiyak ni Leyte 1st District Rep. Martin G. Romualdez na ang absolute top priority ng 19th Congress sa First Regular Session nito ay ang pagpasa ng 2023 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) o ang pambansang budyet.
Sa isang ambush interview ngayong Lunes kung ano ang magiging top five priority bill ng Marcos administration, mabilis na binanggit ni Romualdez ang national budget.
“First of all, there’s the budget. Then there’s some follow on what we have already passed in the House and the Senate in the previous 18th Congress. So a number of those have already been refiled,” sabi Romualdez, pangulo ng Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD).
Kumpiyansa ang nasabing mambabatas na lahat ng priority legislation ni Pangulong Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. ay maipapasa ng Kongreso sa loob ng isang taon, o ang unang regular na sesyon.
“We will pass all these measures within the First Regular Session. Of course the most important is the 2023 budget which we will pass, definitely well, well within the third quarter, or the last quarter rather, and the President will have sufficient time to sign it into law before the year ends,” pagtitiyak pa nito.
“As you know the executive has the prerogative to submit the NEP (National Expenditure Program), or the proposed budget [within a] 30-day period from the delivery of SONA (State of the Nation Address). We will expect the [submisison of budget] within that time of period,” dagdag pa ng mambabatas.
“I don’t want to preempt the President’s SONA statement, but we will take our cue from his SONA priority message,” ayon pa sa dating House Majority Leader ng nakalipas na 18 Congress.
Nabatid na ang executive branch ay isumite ang 2023 NEP na magiging basehan ng 2023 GAB.
Susundan ito ng marathon hearing habang sinusuri ng mga miyembro ng Kamara na pinamumunuan ng House Committee on Appropriations ang mga alokasyon sa badyet ng panukalang batas para sa bawat departamento sa gobyerno.
Sa ora na maaprubahan ito ng Kongreso at nilagdaan ni Marcos, ang GAB ay magiging General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Sinabi ni Romualdez na inaasahan nito ang maayos na pakikipag-ugnayan sa Senado sa ilalim ng administrasyong Marcos, lalo na sa tulong ng super majority coalition.
“No hindrances are anticipated. We have talked about it with economic managers, with our counterpart in the Senate and in the House, we have actually more time discussing that with [the] leadership and sometimes the Senate is maybe more deliberate, it will take time. But we don’t anticipate any hindrances or any problems, we are looking forward to [a] very smooth and functioning Congress, both House and Senate,” paliwanag pa ni Romualdez.
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