Thai House in Final Push for FY2027 Budget Bill Amidst Governing Coalition Tensions

The Thai House of Representatives is in the final stages of deliberating the budget bill for the fiscal year 2027 (BE 2570). The 3.788 trillion baht budget bill is currently undergoing its second and third readings, with the plenary session entering its final day. The morning session began with the deliberation of Article 20, concerning the Ministry of Interior's budget of over 227.8 billion baht. The overall progress of the first two days of the session has been slow, with only a few articles being considered. Yesterday's session saw the approval of only two main articles: Article 15 (Ministry of Transport) and Article 16 (Ministry of Digital Economy and Society), and Article 17 (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment). Amidst this, Mr. Thanayot Thimsunthorn, a Member of Parliament from the Bhumjaithai Party (representing Loei province), addressed the assembly, requesting cooperation from all members to withdraw amendments or to speak concisely. This is due to over 7 hours of amendments remaining on the agenda, with the aim of concluding both the second and third readings within three days before forwarding it to the Senate for consideration. The atmosphere during last night's session, while deliberating Article 17 (Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment), saw intense emotional exchanges between MPs from the Bhumjaithai Party and the Move Forward Party concerning the concentration of groundwater drilling budgets. Mr. Boonchong Wongtrairat, a committee member representing the Bhumjaithai Party, clarified the issue raised by Mr. Natcha Boonchaiyasawat, an MP from the Move Forward Party, who questioned why 141 out of 281 groundwater drilling projects, with a budget of 1.5 billion baht, were allocated to constituencies represented by Bhumjaithai MPs. Mr. Boonchong stated that this was because Bhumjaithai has 172 constituencies, mostly in rural areas facing water scarcity, unlike Move Forward MPs who are largely based in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces, already served by the Metropolitan Waterworks Authority. Subsequently, Mr. Natcha invoked the right of reply, presenting new documents that clearly indicated this was a new budget allocation, not a central budget from 2026. He also made a jab at other coalition partners who received only 57 wells, leading to heated remarks such as, "This is the blue system, which says it takes everything, leaving nothing." These statements triggered strong protests from Bhumjaithai MPs, including Mr. Yotsawat Maipaisansin, Mr. Wichai Sudswasdi, and Mr. Akkaradej Wongpitakroj, who called for the Speaker to control the proceedings. The debate escalated to include discussions about educational qualifications, prompting the presiding Speaker, Mr. Lertsak Pattanachaikul, to order all microphones to be turned off and Mr. Akkaradej to withdraw his comments regarding educational bullying. Ms. Ratchanok Sri-in, an MP from the Move Forward Party, attempted to use her right of reply and protest the Speaker's decision, but was denied. She then used the phrase, "Let fellow members come up and blabber," leading the Speaker to order her to withdraw her statement. Ms. Ratchanok complied but displayed visible anger, requiring fellow MPs from her party to help calm her down. Meanwhile, Mr. Natthaphong Ruangpanawut, the opposition leader, stood up to summarize and caution fellow members that discussions that distort information or admit to funneling budgets to their constituencies could be recorded in the meeting minutes and risk violating Article 144 of the Constitution. The Speaker ultimately ordered the vote on the aforementioned articles. Information Source: INN News