2027 budget has no unconstitutional items, says DBM

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The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on Thursday told senators that the provisions that the Supreme Court (SC) declared unconstitutional in the 2024 and 2025 budgets were no longer in the proposed 2027 budget.

In a "24 Oras" report from Mav Gonzales, senators questioned DBM Secretary Kim De Leon about what adjustments needed to be made following the SC order to ensure that there were no constitutional infirmities.

“We don't have SAGIP (Strengthening Assistance for Government Infrastructure and Social Programs) anymore even in 2027 Unprogrammed Appropriations (UA). The Supreme Court has also laid down some guardrails, the four guardrails to make the unprogrammed appropriations constitutional. Among these is that there shouldn’t be any lump sum,” De Leon said.

The SAGIP items in the UA of both the 2024 and 2025 national budgets were deemed illegal by the SC, as it gave the executive branch post-enactment identification or allocative powers — a duty only prescribed to Congress.

The UA is a list of projects that do not have a set allotment of money for them unless government revenues meet or surpass its targets.

In 2024, the executive branch asked Congress for P281 billion in UA funds, but Congress increased it to P731 billion. The following year, Congress again increased the UA from P158 billion to P363 billion.

The 2026 budget also has a UA, but this no longer surpassed what the President asked for.

The proposed 2027 budget still has UA, but this is the lowest since 2019.

“Bottom line… hindi pwede lumampas Kongreso sa proposal ng Presidente both unprogrammed and programmed?” Senate President Win Gatchalian asked. (Bottom line… Congress could not surpass what was proposed by the President both unprogrammed and programmed?)

“That is how we view the decision, your honor,” De Leon replied.

The DBM will also not release funding from Sections 1A and 1B of the 2026 budget if the government does not surpass its revenue targets. Unless the funding is for foreign-assisted projects (FAP),

No UA will also be released from the 2024 budget because this has expired, while the P17.99 billion from the 2025 UA remained untouched.

Senator Imee Marcos said that the obligations for the FAP must be paid.

“We’d like to assure the good senator and the committee na wala pong tatalbog na tseke for foreign-assisted projects, dahil ito ay under a direct financing scheme. Direktang pong binabayaran ng development funders, development institutions, ang ating contractors,” De Leon said.

(We’d like to assure the good senator and the committee that no cheques will bounce for foreign-assisted projects, because this is under a direct financing scheme. We are directly paying the development funders, development institutions, and our contractors.)

Senator Francis Pangilinan said that the previous budgets need not be worried about, and it will only apply moving forward, citing a conversation with SC Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, who penned the decision.

“He actually said that as far as 2024 and 2025 are concerned, the doctrine of post-operative fact will apply,” Pangilinan said.—Jean Mangaluz/LDF, GMA News