(Photo courtesy of Sen. Lacson’s office)
MANILA – Senator Panfilo Lacson said Wednesday, October 21, that the Supreme Court’s decision striking down certain provisions of previous national budgets strengthens the Senate’s review of questionable allocations in the House-approved 2027 General Appropriations Bill (GAB).
Lacson welcomed the timing of the ruling, saying it came as senators were examining proposed expenditures and budget adjustments made by the House of Representatives.
“One good thing about the Supreme Court ruling is its timing. It couldn’t have come at a better time when the House version of the 2027 General Appropriations Bill is undergoing scrutiny by the Senate,” Lacson said.
The senator earlier raised the possibility that the Senate could reinstate hundreds of billions of pesos in allocations reduced or realigned by the House, including funds for foreign-assisted projects and additional flood control expenditures.
He warned that the Senate’s examination of the spending measure could result in more “iyakan” among House members as questionable adjustments come under closer scrutiny.
In its 121-page decision, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional several provisions of the 2024 and 2025 national budgets, along with key unprogrammed appropriations under the 2026 budget.
The High Court found that Congress committed grave abuse of discretion when it raised the executive branch’s proposed unprogrammed appropriations for 2024 from Php 281.9 billion to Php 731.4 billion, an increase of Php 449.5 billion.
The Court stressed that Congress cannot exceed the President’s total recommended appropriations, including both programmed and unprogrammed expenditures.
Lacson said the decision could prohibit further releases of funds under the invalidated provisions while leaving previously disbursed amounts unaffected.
“Those that remain unspent may not be disbursed anymore; those already spent may not be invalidated,” he explained.
He also pointed out that he was not serving in the Senate when Congress approved the 2024 and 2025 national budgets.
Drawing parallels with the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was partly declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, Lacson emphasized the importance of observing constitutional limits in the preparation and approval of government spending measures.
The senator said the ruling provides timely guidance as Congress deliberates on the proposed 2027 national budget, particularly in ensuring that appropriations comply with constitutional requirements.
