Diokno: Senate fund realignments in order

ECONOMIST and former Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno said he finds nothing wrong or irregular with the realignment of funds by some senators prior to the enactment of the 2014 General Appropriations Act.

“Strictly speaking, the role of Congress is to cut, not increase, the budget as prepared and proposed by the president. By tradition, what Congress has done was to propose amendments to the president’s budget, by reprioritizing some spending items, provided that the total president’s budget is not exceeded,” Diokno told The Manila Times.