Lagman, a member of the House “small committee” that proposed P20 billion in “institutional amendments” to the national budget for 2021, on Friday countered allegations that insertions were made by the House, which bloated the DPWH budget for the districts. Like village councilorsThe DPWH budget amounts to P667.3 billion in both the NEP and the GAB, according to documents from the Department of Budget and Management and the House appropriations committee report. Asked if he thought the senator was wrong in blaming House members for the increase in district public works allocations, Lagman replied: “It’s clear from my statement that there were no House individual insertions on infra allocations modifying the NEP. Speaker Lord Allan Velasco referred the Inquirer to House appropriations committee Rep. Eric Go Yap, who has not responded to requests for comment. These allocations will likely be taken up in the bicameral conference committee that will finalize the 2021 national budget.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 20, 2020 21:22 UTC