MANILA — House Speaker Martin Romualdez would rather make changes to the 2023 national budget pending before the Senate than pass a supplemental budget to help those affected by severe tropical storm Paeng.

"The supplemental budget is a very formal process... Just specifically for Paeng, it might actually be more expedient to just use the current setup of what we have in terms of the budget and to actually effect the release," Romualdez told reporters on Tuesday.

The Senate is expected to approve the 2023 budget on final reading this week, paving the way for a bicameral conference committee with the House next week.

The House approved its version of next year's spending plan last September.

There is no final figure yet for how much could be reallocated for Paeng recovery efforts, Romualdez said.

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"Once we are in bicam, that's when we can determine the final figure but rest assured, the President and the Senate and the House are in unison in setting aside fund for the Paeng. Nakita natin kagaya ng Yolanda napakalakas ng mga bagyo ngayon. Pero yung sa Paeng di lang malakas; malawak," the Speaker said.

(We saw that like Yolanda, recent storms are very strong. But Paeng was not just strong, it trail was vast.)

Paeng, which struck days before the All Saints' Day holiday, killed some 150 people and left 4 regions in a state of calamity.

• Marcos places four regions under state of calamity due to Paeng
• Paeng death toll climbs to 156, infra damage at P4.3 billion: NDRRMC

PRIORITY BILLS

Romualdez said he hoped the House could approve more than half of the 30 administration priority measures before Congress adjourns next month, as threshed out by the Legislative Executive Development Advisory Council.

"We're working on at least 16 or 18 out of the 30 initial LEDAC priorities before Christmas break so we informed the President about it yesterday," Romualdez said.

"We had already met with the LEDAC. We are very very well on our way and are very very much on track. There are really no issues in the Congress, we're actually ahead of schedule and we will just do it as fast as we can so that we can turn over these bills and matters to the Senate," he said.

House Committee on Information and Communication Technology Chairman Rep. Tobias "Toby" Tiangco said the bills the House aimed to approve by December included the proposed E-Governance Act, which the administration hoped would modernize the bureaucracy.

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FUNDRAISING

The House Representatives also raised about P120 million for the victims of Paeng following a fundraising dinner hosted by Romualdez for his birthday on Monday.

"Since the outset of typhoon Paeng, we asked for the voluntary assistance of our members of the House and friends of the members of the House and we were overwhelmed by the generosity and the outpouring of support," Romualdez said in his post-birthday luncheon for members of the media at the House of Representatives.

Romualdez said lawmakers also raised P5 million for the victims of a fire in Navotas on Monday night.

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