Minority solons assail P449.5 billion unprogrammed funds in 2024 budget Ian Laqui - Philstar.com

MANILA, Philippines — Rep. Edcel Lagman (Albay, 1st district) and other minority lawmakers urged the Supreme Court (SC) on Monday to “nullify” and prevent the government from utilizing the P449.5 billion unprogrammed funds in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA). In a 27-page petition released on Tuesday, Lagman and his co-petitioners asked the high court to order the respondents, which include the Senate, House of Representatives and certain departments of the executive branch, from “funding, releasing and implementing the constitutionally infirm excess appropriations of P449.5 billion.” “This Petition is limited to the declaration of nullity and unconstitutionality of the excess of P449.5-B in unprogrammed appropriations inserted by the Bicameral Conference Committee in the 2024 General Appropriations Bill,” the petition read. “Moreover, this petition does not seek to stop or derail the operation of the National Government…,except to pray for the nullification of the constitutionally infirm excess of P449.5-B in unprogrammed appropriations,” it added. Aside from Lagman, among the petitioners are Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. (Camarines Sur, 3rd district) and Rep. Mujiv Hataman (Basilan). The lawmakers also argued that increasing the original amount of unprogrammed funds is prohibited under Article 6 (Section 25, paragraph 1) of the Constitution. Under the mentioned provision by the Constitution, Congress cannot go beyond the appropriations sought by the president in the National Expenditure Program. “If unprogrammed appropriations are increased beyond the ceiling imposed by the President, their subsequent funding and release, whether righteous or contrived, will balloon the government's expenditures beyond the fiscal program,” the petition read. According to a table provided by the petitioners, the unprogrammed funds requested by the executive branch increased from P281.9 billion to almost P731.5 billion in the GAA. “As a result of the insertion made by the Bicameral Conference Committee and ratified by the House of Representatives and the Senate, the GAA carries the infirm appropriation of P731 billion of which P449.5 billion is the exorbitant excess,” the petition read. Based on the website of the Department of Budget and Management, unprogrammed appropriations are funds set aside for specific expenses that will only be released if certain events occur during the fiscal year. These events include getting proceeds from new loans for foreign-assisted projects, collecting revenue from new taxes not originally planned and surpassing the target collections for non-revenue measures. On Monday, Presidential Communications Secretary Cheloy Garafil said the executive department will answer the petition if ever required by the SC. — with reports from The STAR/Alexis Romero

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