Abad: Nothing wrong with 2015 nat’l budget

Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad. INQUIRER.net file photo

THERE is nothing irregular in the 2015 national government budget, according to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

In a text message to the Inquirer, the head of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Wednesday recalled that they “prepared the budget mindful of the principles laid down by the Supreme Court in its decisions and certain that we abided by those decisions.”

The high tribunal on Tuesday ordered both Malacañang and Congress to comment on a petition filed by the Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa) for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on three provisions of the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA), as well as special purpose funds (SPF).

“When we proposed the budget to the legislature, we were asked repeatedly about the same issues raised in the petition by the legislators, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate,” he said, referring to allegations of lump sum and discretionary funds of some government agencies.

Abad, also a stalwart of the ruling Liberal Party, noted “with some modifications, [the lawmakers] agreed that our proposals were in line with the Constitution, existing laws and jurisprudence and passed them.”

The executive branch, he added, “will reply [to the allegations made by the Philconsa concerning lump sum or discretionary funds in the 2015 budget] as directed by the Supreme Court.”

In their 30-page petition, Philconsa called for the issuance of a TRO on the implementation of Section Nos. 65, 70 and 73 of the GAA, as well as on the special provisions of the SPF.

Philsconsa petitioners, led by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, also asked the high court to issue notices of disallowances on all fund disbursements from the subject GAA provisions.

They also asked the Supreme Court to issue a show cause order against the DBM and Congress for alleged “flagrant disobedience, resistance and disregard for the decisions of the court in the Priority Development Assistance Fund and Disbursement Acceleration Program fund.”

The group urged the high tribunal to declare all questioned GAA provisions unconstitutional.

Aside from Romualdez, the other petitioners included former Sen. Francisco Tatad, ex-budget secretary Benjamin Diokno, former national security adviser Norberto Gonzales and Archbishops Fernando Capalla, Ramon Arguelles and Romulo de la Cruz.