By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — House Speaker Martin Romualdez announced Monday (18 Dec 2023) that President Ferdinand Marcos “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. is slated to sign the P5.76-trillion national budget on Wednesday.

Romualdez mentioned that it should have been signed before the President’s trip to Japan; however, the printing of the bill was still in progress.

“The signing is scheduled for Wednesday. He would have signed it before he left if the printing had been completed. But I think they are still in the process of printing. There are printing requirements, right? Many copies are needed. But other than that, it’s ready. It’s ready to go,” the House Speaker stated.

He assured that they do not anticipate any changes in the bill. “We are following the parameters. We’ll be working closely with the Office of the President and all the departments,” Romualdez added.

After participating in the 50th anniversary of the ASEAN-Japan Friendship and Cooperation Summit, Marcos is expected to return to Manila on Monday.

The 2024 budget proposal was ratified last week by the Senate and the House of Representatives.

(ai/mnm)

By Liezelle Soriano

MANILA — Vice President Sara Duterte-Carpio has urged members of the House of Representatives to respect President Ferdinand Marcos “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s decision regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation into the war on drugs.

The War on Drugs was a program initiated by VP Sara Duterte’s father former President Rodrigo Duterte to combat the drug menace in the country when he assumed power back in 2016.

“In light of this unequivocal stance, we appeal to the House to honor the President’s position as the chief architect of our foreign policy,” Duterte-Carpio stated.

“The President has also affirmed that his standpoint is grounded in the fact that the ICC lost jurisdiction over the Philippines upon our withdrawal from the Rome Statute on March 17, 2019,” added the Vice President.

Duterte-Carpio, who also serves as Education Secretary, emphasized that Philippine courts should not be demeaned by allowing an international court to investigate the matter.

“Let us not insult and bring shame to our courts by projecting to the world that we believe only foreigners have the ability to dispense justice and uphold righteousness in our own nation,” she remarked.

A resolution filed on Tuesday by Representative Bienvenido “Benny” Abante Jr. urges the Marcos government to cooperate with the ICC investigation.

In October, legislators from the Makabayan bloc, namely France Castro of the ACT Teachers party-list, Arlene Brosas of the Gabriela party-list, and Raoul Manuel of the Kabataan party-list, filed a similar resolution.

(ai/mnm)