SC asked to nullify lump sum items in 2014 budget

Greco Belgica INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—A former Manila councilor on Monday asked the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional the lump sum discretionary funds in the P2.265-trillion budget for 2014.

In his 21-page petition, Greco Antonious Belgica said the lump sum discretionary funds contradict the high court’s decision last year against the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

“Unfortunately, despite the unanimous ruling in the Belgica Case, Congress and the President chose to ignore the Honorable Court’s warnings by passing a 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA) that is filled with unconstitutional lump sum discretionary fund items such as: (a) Unprogrammed Fund (P139,903,759,000); (b) the E-Government Fund (P2,478,900,000); (c) Contingent Fund (1,000,000,000); and (d) Local Government Support Fund (P405,000,000), with more equally invalid items dispersed within the individual departments’ budgets.

“The 2014 GAA is proof that the two political branches have decided to ignore the Supreme Court. It is a budget that is full of lump sums that let discretion run riot,” the petition stated.

Belgica expressed apprehension that the lump sum items in the 2014 GAA may be used by the President to fund projects of local government officials who are allies of the administration.

“[T]he 2014 GAA on lump sum items all the more strengthens the power of the Chief Executive over the local government because priorities on assistance and budget allocations for the said lump sum items may not necessarily be based on the urgency and priority needs of a particular local government but on how close the local government leader is to the powers that be…In the final analysis, the lump sum items tend to give undue advantage to the members of the ruling party as allies of the Chief Executive and is therefore anathema to the democratic process,” he further stated.

Belgica said a GAA must be composed of detailed and specific appropriations, not “general, broadly-phased purposes.”

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