Passage of govt's Bt2-trillion loan bill will not be smooth

The House of Representatives will deliberate on the second and third readings of the bill on Thursday and Friday. Pheu Thai Party spokesman Prompong Nopparit said the government hoped deliberations could be wrapped up in two days, but government chief whip Amnuay Khlangpha said the debate could continue next week if needed.
After the fiscal 2014 budget bill ran into delays pending a Constitutional Court ruling, the government pushed the Bt2-trillion loan bill as an urgent priority in the House to restore investors’ confidence and stimulate the flagging economy. Critics see the move as an effort to minimise the risk of a delay, which would threaten the bill’s passage.
Pheu Thai MPs have been guided on how to go about the deliberation to ensure smooth passage, with instructions not to protest against the opposition’s deliberation unnecessarily, so the House can wrap up proceedings quickly.
They have been ordered not to leave the House compound during the deliberation. Finance Minister Kittiratt Na-Ranong and Transport Minister Chadchart Sittipunt will defend the bill during the House session while other ministers attend a mobile Cabinet meeting in Lop Buri on the same days.
PM’s Office Minister Varathep Ratanakorn, deputy chairman of the committee vetting the Bt2-trillion loan bill, said it was likely the deliberation would drag on, because the bill faced no time restrictions.
He said the government earlier planned that the loan bill would take effect around October 1, the start of the fiscal year. Any delay should not be more than two months, so the bill should be effective within the final quarter, he said.
“We admit we are concerned the bill will face a delay similar to that faced by the budget bill after the Constitutional Court was asked to rule on it,” Varathep said.
Kanit na Nakorn, chairman of the Law Reform Commission of Thailand, has said the Bt2-trillion loan bill violates the charter, including Article 169, which stipulates that budget allocation is permitted only as outlined in the law on parliamentary budget spending.
Chadchart said the government had drawn up a plan should the court find the bill unconstitutional.
Pheu Thai MPs said the plan would see Parliament vote on whether the Constitutional Court had exceeded the scope of its powers, encroached on the government’s power and violated the principle of separation of powers.
But even if the Constitutional Court rules otherwise, the Bt2-trillion loan bill could still face a delay if someone files a complaint with the Administrative Court, making it unlikely the bill will sail through Parliament this week.