Villar was in the Cabinet meeting when Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno presented the national budget proposal, Panelo said at a press conference in Malaca帽ang on Tuesday.
鈥淭hat was a proposal. All of us were present (in the Cabinet meeting) and all of us consented to that,鈥� he said.
At Monday鈥檚 resumption of the Senate hearing on the proposed national budget, Villar said he learned about the additional funding only after he received a copy of the National Expenditure Program, or the executive鈥檚 proposed budget.
He was responding to a query of Sen. Panfilo Lacson about who planned the P75 billion in additional infrastructure funds.
Villar鈥檚 admission prompted senators to delete the P75 billion from the proposed budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
鈥楧iokno was right鈥�
Panelo said he had talked to Villar during the last Cabinet meeting about some congressmen鈥檚 statements that the public works secretary had been silent about the extra budget given to the DPWH, something that Diokno had pointed out.
鈥淪ecretary Villar鈥檚 response to me was that 鈥�(Diokno) was right鈥� and that they just left it to Secretary Diokno to speak on it,鈥� Panelo said.
The Palace official said he told Villar that it would be good if he would confirm what Diokno had said about the funding.
He agreed to do so, Panelo said. 鈥淚n other words, (Villar) agrees to what Secretary Diokno said.鈥�
No insertion
Panelo reiterated there was no insertion in the spending bill because the executive branch鈥檚 job was to make the budget proposal before it was submitted to Congress.
He shrugged off the impact of the Senate move to delete P75 billion, saying the executive branch and Congress were 鈥渧ery creative.鈥�
鈥淚f the funds are not enough, the appropriations can always be added. There is a supplemental budget and this could be (resorted to),鈥� Panelo said.
He said the Senate was only doing its job when it decided to remove the P75 billion. 鈥�Christine O. Avenda帽o