Duterte gave a surprise speech addressing the budget fiasco. He repeatedly ordered the opposing groups to fix the mess immediately or he will intervene for them.
This came days after incumbent House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano moved to suspend plenary sessions for more than month until November 16.
“I think that’s the message of the President: it shouldn’t have happened because they should have stuck with the calendar,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said.
“Very clear naman ang mensahe ni Pangulo na kailangan walang delays in the budget because we are facing a pandemic, itong COVID-19, kaya napaka-importante na maipasa ang budget on time,” he said.
“At the end of day, kapag hindi natin gagampanan ang ating trabaho, hindi naman maiisip ng tao na dahil may away dito sa Kongreso, ang iisipin nila: anong ginawa ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Duterte sa panahon na nangangailangan sila ng tulong dahil dito sa pandemyang ito?”
[The President’s message was very clear that we cannot afford budget delays because we are facing the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s really important to pass the budget on time… At the end of day, if we don’t implement programs and do our job, people won’t think that it was because of a squabble in Congress. They will think: what did the Duterte administration do at a time when we need their help due to this pandemic?]
For Nograles, House members should return to the plenary and tackle the 2021 budget for third and final reading before Congress takes a break by October 16.
“Basically, his message last night was: guys, let’s work. Andaming trabahong kailangang gawin para sa ating mga kababayan, mahiya naman po tayo [There’s so much we need to do for our people, have some decency],” he added.
If the 2021 budget is not passed, a reenacted budget will be utilized. However, this will leave unfunded new programs especially those dedicated for the government’s COVID-19 response.
