Gov't not 'precluded' from doing projects in ARMM: Nograles | ABS-CBN

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Gov't not 'precluded' from doing projects in ARMM: Nograles

Gov't not 'precluded' from doing projects in ARMM: Nograles

ABS-CBN News

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House Appropriations Committee Chair Karlo Nograles said the House of Representatives maintains that the Organic Act of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) does not

“preclude” the national government from implementing projects in the region after the 2017 national budget was approved Wednesday.

Nograles was responding to Senator Panfilo Lacson who voted against the budget because of an P8-billion fund initially intended for the Department of Public Works and Highways for projects in the ARMM saying it was similar to the pork barrel.

The P8-billion eventually went to the Commission on Higher Education which will also benefit the ARMM.

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Nograles on Thursday explained that they only “gave way” to the Senate so that the 2017 budget would be passed.

“We gave way to the Senate without necessarily conceding our legal position on the matter but just for the purpose of enacting a budget in 2017,” he said in an interview on “Mornings @ ANC.”

“As far as we’re concerned, nothing in the Organic Act of ARMM prevents the central government or national government from implementing infrastructure projects in the ARMM. We are still holding firm to that legal position.”

Voting 17-2-1, the Senate on Wednesday, approved the bicameral conference committee report on the proposed 2017 P3.35-trillion budget, the highest budget in the country's history.

‘BIG PORTION FOR WAR ON DRUGS'

Asked how much is allotted for President Rodrigo Duterte’s campaign against illegal drugs, the backbone of his presidential campaign, Nograles did not give a specific amount but said they have allotted a “big portion” to the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Philippine National Police (PNP) for their double barrel program, including “Oplan Tokhang.”

“We’ve ensured that not only will we be increasing the salaries of our policemen, our soldiers, our men in uniform but also the equipment needed by the PNP and AFP [Armed Forces of the Philippines],” he said.

Nograles added that they also allocated a budget for the construction of four mega drug rehab centers all over the country: two in Luzon, one in Visayas, and one in Mindanao.

He also assured that the 2017 budget is “pork-free” since they itemized the projects and programs in the budget.

“As much as possible, we have itemized all the projects and programs of government. You will no longer see lump sums that will be enacted post-budget but you will see items in terms of projects and programs. So, line itemization is our way of ensuring a pork-free [budget],” he said.

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