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Today was budget day in Belmopan, the most important date on the parliamentary calendar.  That's when the revenue and appropriations bill for the coming fiscal year is tabled to authorise all government spending.  And while the house business is serious - the PUP wasn't playing one bit.  The opposition had a spring in its step after a massive protest 11 days ago.  Sensing the Barrow Administration was on the ropes, they seemed to have come into the house, fixing for a fight, or a knockout punch.  Right off the bat, the leader of the opposition tried to stop the PM form even reading the budget.  Here's how that went

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow - Prime Minister
"Madam I arise to introduce a bill for an act to appropriate certain sums of money for the use of the public service... This is a point of order Madam Speaker."

Hon. John Briceno - Leader of the Opposition
"Point of order Madam Speaker, the Belize constitution dictates that the leader on the side of the government should be acting as Prime Minister but the Prime Minister is no longer the leader, as long as I know that had a convention and that the Hon. member from Belmopan was elected leader of the party. So he's supposed to be the Prime Minister Madam Speaker"

Laura Longsworth - Speaker of the House
"Kindly be seated, kindly proceed Prime Minister...."

Hon. John Briceno
"Can I add one more point madam speaker..."

Laura Longsworth
"Just have your seat leader; you will have enough time, just have a seat. You are going to have your time."

Rt. Hon. Dean Barrow
"I will tell the house and the gallery that I had to call you this morning to ask your apologies because I needed to be late. What happened was I left Belize City, I was in such a rush that I had forgotten that I did not take my pain killers and so I had to turn back around to get my pain killers... Wish that you had turn back around sir to your simple pills! That's what you should have done."

Hon. John Briceno
"That is the problem Madam Speaker, this man has taken so much drugs, that the drugs the get to his head you know Madam Speaker. All of the drugs that he has to take for his pain is starting to affect his head Madam Speaker, that is the problem! That is why he behaves unto in this house Madam Speaker."

Laura Longsworth
"Please proceed and one last time, if you want to try me today, go right ahead and I'm going to clear the gallery. Please proceed..."

Hon. Oscar Requena - PUP Toledo West
"Madam Speaker"

Laura Longsworth
"Prime Minister has the chair. I'm sorry; you don't have the microphone, the Prime Minister...."

Hon. Oscar Requena
"But this is unfair Madam Speaker; we have a point of order."

Laura Longsworth
"What's the point of order?"

Hon. Oscar Requena
"Madam Speaker the point of order is that this house Madam Speaker requires that as members of this honourable house, we must carry out ourselves with a certain level of decorum. It's unacceptable for the Prime Minister to be referring to the Leader of the Opposition as simple Madam Speaker. It's unacceptable, I request Madam Speaker that he retracts his statement."

Laura Longsworth
"Prime Minister... no more interruptions please."

Hon. John Briceno
"We are going to step out and he can continue doing his illegal reading and when he finish with this charade, we are going to come back. Let him read by himself and we are going to come back afterwards. Thank you Madam Speaker."