President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday vetoed the budget cut on the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) forensics laboratory that was inserted by Senators Franklin Drilon and Juan Edgard “Sonny” Angara. PAO Chief Persida Rueda-Acosta thanked the President for the veto, saying it retained the rights of indigents to gain access to free legal and medical services. Rueda-Acosta had accused Drilon and Angara of disrespecting the President by “illegally” inserting a provision in the 2021 budget that would effectively dissolve the laboratory. Rueda-Acosta had pleaded to Duterte to veto the budget slash. In a statement, Drilon said the vetoed provision is a replication of an existing provision in the 2020 General Appropriations Act.

Source: Manila Times December 30, 2020 16:19 UTC