Bayan Muna asks SC to stop P449.5-B budget insertion

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The group Bayan Muna asked the Supreme Court on Friday to nullify the P449.5-billion budget increase in unprogrammed appropriations in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

The petition asked the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional the move of the congressional bicameral conference committee to increase the appropriation from P281 billion to P731 billion outside the regular budget process.

This, they said, violated Article VI, Section 22 of the Constitution, which requires all laws to go through required legal proceedings unless “there is a public emergency and calamity.”

The petition also questioned President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s issuance of a certificate of urgency “despite the absence of urgency.”

“This presidential power has been regularly abused to shortcut legislative processes by the mere expediency of an emergency certification, thereby preventing the full deliberations and scrutiny of a bill in three readings,” Bayan Muna said in a statement.

Unprogrammed appropriations are funds that were set aside in the GAA for projects not yet established during the review and approval of a budget law.

The petitioners questioned the bicameral committee’s “abuse of power” in “inserting provisions not contained in approved bills,” like the P89.9-billion funds in the Philippine Health Corp. (PhilHealth) funds that are now being reverted to the national government for the unprogrammed appropriations.

Pork barrel

“The increase becomes more insidious not only because it is reserved for pork barrel projects, but also increases our national debt and budget deficit, making it a monster pork barrel,” Bayan Muna claimed.

“The [bicameral committee] arrogated unto itself the power to increase the [unallocated appropriations] to an amount more than what the Executive and Congress approved, respectively,” the partylist group said.

“The [bicameral committee] acted as a powerful ‘Third Chamber’ that can insert items not found in the 2024 General Appropriations Bill approved by both Houses of Congress on ‘Third Reading,’” Bayan Muna added.

The group said this violated Articles VI and VII of the Constitution, which states that Congress cannot increase the amount of appropriation recommended by the President.

The petition also sought to stop the transfer of funds from government-owned and -controlled corporations, like PhilHealth, for such programs.

Bayan Muna chairperson Neri Colmenares and group’s former representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdinand Gaite and Teodoro Casino filed the petition against Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin representing Mr. Marcos, the Senate President and the Speaker of the House.