Following the change in leadership in the lower chamber, Sen. Panfilo Lacson has pointed out the increase in infrastructure budget of some congressional districts in the 2021 spending plan.
According to the senator, his office noticed the that some infrastructure items increased in the House of Representatives version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) under Speaker Lord Allan Velasco.
He cited, for example, a district which initially had an allocation of P9-B that went up to P15-B.
“Nagpalit sila ng liderato. Nang nagpalit ang liderato napansin namin ang sa NEP (National Expenditure Program) isang distrito P9B, siguro medyo matibay ang distrito na ‘yan, paglabas ng GAB meaning under the new leadership, umabot ng P15B,” he said in an interview with dzBB.
[They changed leadership. When they changed the leadership, we noticed that the district that had P9 billion under NEP, now has P15 billion in GAB under the new leadership.]
“May distrito rin na nasa P4-5B, paglabas ng GAB nadagdagan ng another P4 to 5B, P7.9B, 7.5B. So nakakagulat talaga. Ganito ba ang kalakaran? Di ba ang mahirap na distrito mas malaki ang makuha para maka-develop sila? ‘Yan ang issue,” he added.
[There is one district that has P4.5 billion, but when the GAB was finalized, there was an increase of another P4 to 5 billion, P7.9 billion, P7.5 billion. So it is really shocking. Is this the new system? Should not poor districts have more budget so they can be developed? That is the issue.]
Lacson also hinted that the infrastructure budget that increased are those of congressional districts with representatives who appear to have close ties with Velasco.
Velasco has not yet issued a statement on the matter.
