ACT-CIS Partylist Representative Eric Go Yap has defended Speaker Lord Alan Velasco on the issue of allegedly realigning funds of some agencies under the proposed 2021 national budget, in favor for his allied congressmen.
This follows after some intriguing issues came out that the budget allocation for Velasco’s henchmen has increased while the allocation of some congressmen allied to former Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has decreased.
Yap, who also chairs the House Appropriation Panel, said he did not see any “shifting” in budget allocations when Velasco took office last October, 2020.
The lawmaker emphasized that Velasco did not personally interfere in the amendments to the budget of government agencies.
Meanwhile, in connection with the controversy, Senator Panfilo Lacson had earlier said, it was very intriguing that the budget allocations for Velasco’s allies suddenly increased while for Cayetano’s allies depleted.
Lacson pointed out that among the noticeable budget cuts was the district of Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Villafuerte.
Villafuerte, on the other hand, confirmed that the budget cut for the three flagship projects of the Duterte administration in Bicol reached P386 million.
Yap explained that the decision to realign the fund came from the DPWH itself which was just adopted by the committee.