Arroyo Assailed Over Budget Veto

Had the President not vetoed this provision, this
would have prevented the government from servicing
loans for defective or poorly-conceived projects such
as the procurement of medical incinerators which did
not meet the standards of the Clean Air Act and the
Telepono sa Barangay, which has turned into a white
elephant.

He said the President’s veto of the provision on the
mandatory reporting of debt service payments to
Congress smacks of a flagrant disregard of the
constitutional principle of transparency in all
government transactions which she herself has vowed to
abide by.

Pimentel branded the veto of this specific provision
as unwise, irresponsible and indefensible, noting the
Chief Executive did not even bother to explain in her
veto message to Congress why she was rejecting this
provision.

He emphasized the need for a full public disclosure of
all government loan transactions especially now that
the Arroyo administration has gone on a
borrowing-spree specially from cash-rich China.

To put a stop to the President’s abuse of her veto
power, Pimentel said the logical course of action left
to Congress is to override this veto. He said this
will also enable Congress to assert its much-diluted
power over the purse.

However, he acknowledged that it will be a useless
exercise to attempt an override of the veto under the
present circumstances because “we cannot mount the
required number of votes.”

“Not under the set-up where other lawmakers would
partake of the bounty of the underhanded tactics GMA
has employed to deal with the GAA,” Pimentel said.

“To sum up, Mrs. Arroyo has again thrashed the spirit
of the law in favor of a pragmatic interpretation of
legal principles that allows her to maximize her hold
on the national purse for partisan political gain.”
-o0o-

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