Statement of Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan, Partido Liberal president, On possibility of reenacted budget from DBM chief

Nothing is insurmountable in the disagreement between the executive and Congress on the 2019 proposed budget.

Having a reenacted budget is an unacceptable scenario, especially as 2019 will be an election year.

A reenacted budget would mean that the President will have a blanket authority to declare the capital outlay component as "savings," which will give it power to use the same for whatever programs, activities, and projects the President wants.

It means literally stuffing the President's war chest with funds in an election year.

As it is, there are a number of lump-sum items in the budget, aside from the billions of pesos in intelligence and confidential fund at the President's disposal.

Let us not forget the many years when we operated on a reenacted budget under the Arroyo administration. These were the very same years when a number of corruption allegations surfaced on the use of public funds.