MANILA -- President Rodrigo Duterte is expected to soon sign the Philippines' 2019 budget after congressional leaders on Tuesday signed off on the spending plan, ending a three-month-long impasse that has delayed infrastructure projects and forced the government to slash economic growth targets.
Senate President Vicente Sotto III on Tuesday said he signed, "with reservations," the 3.76-trillion-peso ($71.6 billion) budget bill and forwarded it to Duterte for approval. Sotto said he included a note to Duterte questioning more than 75 billion pesos in local infrastructure projects that his counterparts in the House of Representatives realigned to prioritize favored districts, even after Congress approved a final version of the bill in February.
