The budget will be forwarded to the Senate for another round of deliberations.
MANILA, Philippines (2nd UPDATE) – After a heated debate on a cold and rainy afternoon, the House of Representatives on Tuesday, September 12, voted to allocate only P1,000 to the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) for 2018.
Acting on a motion by SAGIP Representative Rodante Marcoleta, 119 voted in favor of giving the Constitutional body a measly P1,000 for the coming year.
Based on an initial count by House plenary staff, and video footage from the voting itself, the following lawmakers voted against Marcoleta's motion to slash the CHR budget:.
No less than House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, during committee debates over the proposed CHR budget, said the Constitutional body should get no budget for 2018, citing its supposed failure to perform.
Hours before the House passed the measly budget, the Senate approved the CHR's proposed budget at the committee level.
The Commission has repeatedly expressed concern over deaths linked to the drug war, specifically those which they claim were unjustified. »