EX-HOUSE APPROPRIATIONS PANEL CHAIR BLAMES CAYETANO FOR P70-B CUTS IN MILITARY, POLICE PENSION BUDGET

Deputy Speaker Isidro Ungab on Monday accused the previous House leadership of manipulating the 2020 national budget which resulted in budget cuts totaling P209 billion, including the more than P70 billion that were slashed from the Pension and Gratuity Fund (PGF) of retired military and police personnel.

Ungab was the chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations when Congress approved in 2019 the P4.1-trillion national budget for 2020 during the time of then Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano.

“I think this is the proper time to reveal what truly happened, everything that has happened. ‘Yun pong nag-finalize ng bicameral conference committee report was not anymore the chairman (of the Committee on Appropriations),” Ungab revealed.

“Na-finalize po ‘yan sa Office of the Speaker. Andun si Speaker Cayetano and (then) Deputy Speaker LRay Villafuerte, who finalized the bicam report,” he explained.

Ungab made the clarification after Anakalusugan Party-list Rep. Mike Defensor, a known staunch ally of Cayetano, accused Speaker Lord Allan Velasco for the alleged P20-billion decrease in military’s PGF in the 2021 General Appropriations Act (GAA) during the chamber’s privilege hour.

In his interpellation, incumbent Appropriations Committee Chairman Eric Yap clarified that the 2021 GAA was diligently scrutinized by the bicameral conference committee and the Executive department, including the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“It was the most responsive budget we could craft and pass in the wake of the global pandemic, especially considering the fact that Speaker Lord Allan Velasco had to work double-time to pass the GAA and prevent a re-enacted budget,” Yap said.

Yap explained that the P20-billion was in fact a buffer fund, which the DBM, the House and the Senate all agreed to realign in favor of budget items meant to address the Covid-19 pandemic including the procurement of vaccines and personnel protective equipment of medical frontliners.

He added that the current problems involving the pension of uniformed retirees was due to the P70-billion cut in their budget for the year 2020, during the previous House leadership under former Speaker Cayetano. The P20-billion realignment done for 2021 has no impact on the current issues faced by retirees.

Nevertheless, Yap said that he has been instructed by Speaker Velasco to urgently file a supplemental budget of P50 billion to be able to absorb the fund deficiency brought about by the P70-billion budget cut made by the previous House leadership. Budget Secretary Wendell Avisado has given his go signal too.

Ungab said that at the time, he talked to his Senate counterpart, Senator Sonny Angara, to pass the 2020 budget as the economy was severely affected then.

He was then ousted as head of the Appropriations panel as he continuously voiced his disgust over the cuts.

“Galit na galit ako kasi sundalo din ako e,” said Ungab, who bared that he is an army colonel reservist. “That’s why I am happy when I was ousted dahil hindi ko kayang makain yung style na bulok.”

Ungab said that he will tell all in a privilege speech at the proper time.

He said: “Ngayon lang ako nagsalita because I was mentioned on the floor. I did my best. Baka pagdating ko dyan next week I will tell you in a privilege speech to discuss the details what transpired in that room.”