Former Bayan Muna congressman Neri Colmenares today said that “Bayan Muna has filed its Memorandum of Argument in the case of Bayan Muna et. al. vs. Marcos et. al. asking the Supreme Court to declare as unconstitutional the insertions of the Bicameral Conference Committee (BCC) in the 2024 GAA and the return of the Php 449 billion inserted in the Unprogrammed Appropriations, the PHP 60 billion taken from PhilHealth and the Php 104 billion taken from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).”
Colmenares, who argued before the Supreme Court several times in this case, further said that “We also questioned the issuance of Presidential Certification of Urgency, which resulted in the rushed passage in the Second and Third Reading of the 2024 GAA despite the absence of any public calamity or emergency. We argued that this abuse of presidential certification of emergency, not because there was any emergency, but only to evade congressional scrutiny of the budget, only paves the way for the insertion of hundreds of billions in the budget. Worse, after rushing the approval of HB 8980 or the 2024 general appropriations bill on September 27, 2024, the House suddenly goes and recess and only transmits the approved bill to the Senate on November 4, 2023—belying the claim that there was an emergency that necessitates the immediate enactment of the certified bill. We also included in the MoA that the creation of the ‘small committee’ to amend the budget already approved by the House on Third Reading is unconstitutional.”
The Bayan Muna Memorandum specifically prayed for the following from the Supreme Court to : Nullify the insertions of the Bilateral Conference Committee (BCC) for grave abuse of discretion and for violation of Sec. 1, Section 26 (2) and Section 24 of Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, specifically: To declare as unconstitutional and void the Php 449.5 Billion inserted by the BCC in the Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) of RA. No. 11975 or the 2024 GAA. Bayan Muna also sought the nullification of section 1 (d), Chapter XLIII of the 2024 GAA which provides that GOCCs can be the source of funding for the UA. Bayan Muna also seeks the nullification of DOF Circular 003-2024 and the return of PHP 60 billion taken from PhilHealth and Php 104 billion taken from the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) to both GOCCs, respectively.
Bayan Muna also asked for the nullification of the Presidential Certification of Urgency for certifying as urgent the 2024 General Appropriations Bill absent the existence of any calamity or emergency, and for the Court to issue the constitutional parameters for the President’s exercise of the power to certify a bill urgent namely: (i) such certification must clearly specify the nature of the emergency or public calamity addressed, explain how the certified bill meets said calamity or emergency and why said emergency or public calamity requires the immediate enactment of a bill (ii) Bills duly certified urgent by the President must undergo Second and Third Readings even if not in separate days, and the “printed copies” of the bill in its final form must be distributed to the members of Congress at the time it is subject to a vote on Third Reading to apprise members of the contents of the bill they are approving.
Bayan Muna also asked the Supreme Court to issue the constitutional parameters for the practice of the bicameral conference committee so that it will work within the confines of the 1987 Constitution, specifically that: A bicameral conference committee cannot insert a new provision not found in the bills approved by both Houses of Congress such as the Php 449 billion worth of projects and Section 1 (d) on the diversion of GOCC funds. We ask the Court to order that the power of the Bicam is only to reconcile differing provisions in the House and the Senate bills and not tackle provisions that do not need to be harmonized. The BCC deliberations must be open to the public and the media. It must be conducted in a government office, such as the House of Representatives or the Senate, and not in expensive and inaccessible hotels and resorts like the Manila Golf and Country Club in Makati. There must be a transcript of the proceedings of the BCC, and the same must be accessible to the members of Congress as well as the public and media. The report of the BCC must undergo deliberations and be subject to questions and clarifications by the members of their respective Houses and not merely ratified through a rushed viva voce votes of ayes and nays.”
“Considering that PhilHealth has not fully covered the medical needs and other benefits of its members and has in fact not paid many hospitals, we ask the Supreme Court to order the return of billions of pesos diverted from Philhealth and PDIC only to be spent on the favorite projects of legislators in the Unprogrammed Appropriations” explained Colmenares. “If we win this petition then Bicam meetings can no longer be held in expensive hotels and golf clubs but must be held in Congress to make it accessible to the media and the public. We also demanded that there should be transcripts of the Bicam Meetings so the public will be aware which legislator inserted projects and questionable provisions in the GAA” said Colmenares.
Bayan Muna does not care whether the Respondent is from the Duterte or the Marcos administration—kung tama ang ginawa ng president, e di tama. Pero pag mali naman hindi kami mag aatubiling kasuhan at tuligsain ang anumang paglustay ng pondo ng tao. That is the function of Congress and the legislators—to provide checks and balance to the Executive and not be beholden to whoever is in Malacanang.
“Win or lose in this election, Bayan Muna will always guard the budget and the spending of public funds from mis-priority and corruption. We have filed a case against the Maharlika Corporation, which will have its Oral Arguments in July, against the misuse of Confidential funds by VP Sara Duterte, and we will also question the irregularities in the 2025 GAA. Bayan Muna does not care whether the Respondent is from the Duterte or the Marcos administration—kung tama ang ginawa ng president, e di tama. Pero pag mali naman hindi kami mag aatubiling kasuhan at tuligsain ang anumang paglustay ng pondo ng tao. That is the function of Congress and the legislators—to provide checks and balance to the Executive and not be beholden to whoever is in Malacanang”, Colmenares concluded. #
