MANILA, Philippines — A plan to give all deputy speakers of the House of Representatives an additional allocation of P1.5 billion each and other Housse members P700 million each under the 2020 national budget did not push through, Sen. Panfilo Lacson revealed on Tuesday.
The senator said he just recently learned that the plan was abandoned even before he told the media about it.
READ: Lacson bares plan to give House deputies P1.5B each
“It did not push through. Even the plan to give P1.5 billion will not push through. I didn’t know about it. I just learned about it awhile ago,” Lacson, speaking in Filipino, told reporters in an interview. “I checked with my sources on what really happened. It did not push through — not because I mentioned it yesterday, but even before.”
House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez earlier denied Lacson’s claim that all House deputies would be given P1.5 billion each and House members P700 million each.
Romualdez and Capiz 2nd District Rep. Fredenil Castro urged Lacson to reveal his sources of the information.
READ: Romualdez, Castro urge Lacson to reveal source of pork allegations
“We are saddened by this because we don’t know where this information came from,” Romualdez said in Filipino.
“At this point right now, nobody seems to know where it’s coming from and it would be helpful if the good senator could help us ferret out the truth by revealing us the sources and the details of this information,” he added.
/atm