Bayan Muna today filed a Petition for Certiorari to stop and question the allocation of Unprogrammed Funds in the 2024 GAA and declare it unconsitutional Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri Colmenares and former Bayan Muna Representatives Carlos Zarate, Ferdie Gaite and Teddy Casino filed the petition against Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin representing Pres. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the Senate President and the Speaker of the House.
The Petitioners question the constitutionality of 3 government actions: the presidential certification of urgency, the power of the bicameral conference committee (BCC) to insert items in the budget, and the resulting congressional increase in the budget submitted by the President.
(i) The President certified as urgent the 2024 national budget despite the absence of urgency, in violation of the Art. VI, Sec. 22 of the Constitution which requires laws to undergo full legislative process and scrutiny before approval, unless “there is a public emergency and calamity”. 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.
(ii) Congress, through the Bicameral Conference Committee (BCC), increased the appropriations of the 2024 Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA) or unprogrammed funds to an amount more than that proposed by the President. Under Art. VI and VII of the Constitution, Congress cannot increase the amount of appropriation recommended by the President. The unprogrammed funds of Php 281 B was increased to Php 731 B. It also increased the total National Expenditure Program submitted by the President by Php 449.5 Billion. 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.
(iii) The Petition also questions the abuse of power by the so called “Bicameral Conference Committee” (BCC) which inserts provisions not contained in approved bills. The BCC arrogated unto itself the power to increase the UA to an amount more than what the Executive and Congress approved, respectively. The BCC 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”. The BCC also surreptitiously inserted a “fourth trigger” to make access to the UA easier through the transfer of the “fund balance of GOCCs” reserves to the UA, as exemplified by the diversion of PhilHealth Funds to amorphous UA projects.
The Petitioners pray that the Supreme Court declare the above-mentioned actions unconstitutional and therefore void. It also seeks to void the provision allowing the transfer of funds from GOCCs to the UA and stop the diversion of PhilHealth funds to UA projects. The Petitioners further pray that the Supreme Court issue parameters to regulate the (i) much-abused presidential power to certify bills urgent; and (ii) prohibit the unrestricted powers of the BCC to insert provisions not found in the approved bill and require that any amendment must undergo full deliberations and allow members of Congress, especially the opposition, to scrutinize and question said amendments.#
