The chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations on Thursday said the unprogrammed funds in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA) are legal and are meant for emergency projects included in the government’s wish list in case of surplus revenues.
Committee chair and Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Elizaldy Co said the unprogrammed appropriations are only released after a certification from the Department of Budget and Management and the Treasury that there is extra revenue.
“Hindi yan obligasyon o kontrata. Hindi siya part ng NEP (national expenditure program), hindi siya part ng programmed funds. It is only a wish list na pag nagkaroon ng extra funds, binibigyan natin ang ating pamahalaan para mas makatulong sa ating mga kababayan at tumaas ang economic growth natin (That is neither an obligation or contract. It is also not part of the NEP and also not part of the programmed funds. It is only a wish list; if there are extra funds, we give it to the government so that we could help more Filipinos and boost economic growth),” he said in a radio interview.
Co said unprogrammed funds have been included in previous national budgets, including this year’s, as a prudent practice for emergency situations.
“Hindi siya bago sa system… Hindi po yan illegal. Ang gamit po niyan kapag may emergency like Covid, kinulang pa nga tayo. Gumastos po tayo ng 400 billion. Nag slash ng pondo sa NEP at may mga proyektong hindi natuloy, para lang matugunan ang bagong pangangailangan (It’s not a new thing in the system… It’s not illegal. It’s typically used for emergencies like Covid. The budget fell short for that. We had to spend PHP400 billion. We had to slash funds in the NEP and some projects were not pursued so that we could address the [Covid-19] situation),” he said.
Co said it is not the job of the government to save, noting it has to spend for its programs and projects to create economic growth.
“Ang gusto natin ay double-digit growth. Direct assistance sa ating mamamayan especially sa panahon ngayon medyo mataas ang inflation na kinokontrol natin. Naglalagay tayo ng pondo na just in case magkaroon ng extra revenue para po sa ating mga mamamayan (What we want to achieve is double-digit growth. [We also want to provide] direct assistance to citizens, especially in times of rising inflation, which we try to control. We have these [unprogrammed] funds just in case we have extra revenues for Filipinos),” he added.
Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman has reiterated that there is nothing unconstitutional with the inclusion of unprogrammed funds in the 2024 budget.
“Our definition, hindi po siya unconstitutional kasi nga po hindi po siya kasama doon sa talagang budget (it is not unconstitutional because it is not included in the actual budget),” Pangandaman said.
Reps. Edcel Lagman (Albay 1st District), Gabriel Bordado (Camarines Sur 3rd District) and Mujiv Hataman (Basilan) on Tuesday filed a petition before the Supreme Court (SC) questioning the legality of the PHP449.5-billion increase in unprogrammed funds under the 2024 national budget.
The opposition lawmakers asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order or writ of preliminary injunction to prevent the release of the unprogrammed funds.
Congress raised the unprogrammed appropriations under the 2024 GAA by PHP449.5 billion from the proposed to PHP281.9 billion to PHP731.5 billion.
The unprogrammed funds, the DBM said, serve as “an important tool for the government to address unforeseen expenditures and prioritize essential programs and projects.” (PNA)
Photo credit: House of Representatives Official Website