Duterte says he won't sign illegal budget bill
President Rodrigo Duterte said on Monday that he would not sign an illegal document amid the alleged changes being made by the House of Representatives on the supposed approved proposed budget for this year by the bicameral committee of Congress.
In a speech in Malacañang, Duterte raised concern that the economy would be affected if Congress continues to fail to pass the P3.757 trillion budget for this year.
"I said my piece: I will not sign anything that would be an illegal document," he said.
Senator Panfilo Lacson has claimed the House leadership has been changing the supposed approved bill by both Chambers allegedly to increase the allocation for Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's district and that of her allied congressmen.
He has said the new budget might only be passed by August when Arroyo and some of her allies like House appropriations committee chair Rolando Andaya Jr. are no longer in Congress.
"We will have a slide in our GDP (gross domestic product) if we are going to reenact the budget. And everybody will suffer including the law enforcement. It will decrease our GDP," Duterte said. Celerina Monte/DMS
