Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 3) — Senate Minority Leader Koko Pimentel on Wednesday said he is set to challenge the 2024 government budget before the Supreme Court.
“I am talking to a member of the House of Representatives who wants to join me in filing this case,” Pimentel said without mentioning names. “When I finish now the outline, ipapasa ko na sa kanya [I will pass it to him.]
“The earliest possible time na ma-file, the better. Today we are not yet ready,” Pimentel told reporters.
Pimentel said he is still finalizing his petition to address the “unconstitutional” increase made by Congress to unprogrammed appropriations worth ₱449.5 billion.
The senator clarified that it was not Albay Representative Edcel Lagman but he said he sees the minority lawmaker as a possible ally.
Lagman earlier slammed the ₱449.5 billion hike in unprogrammed funds under the 2024 national budget, calling it a “constitutional infirmity.”
“This year’s General Appropriations Act, which took effect on 01 January 2024, suffers a constitutional infirmity insofar as the bicameral conference committee inserted ₱449.5 billion in excess of the unprogrammed appropriations of ₱281.9 billion recommended by the President in the national budget or the National Expenditure Program,” Lagman said in a statement.
Lagman cited Section 25 of Article V of the Constitution, which said that Congress could not increase appropriations that the President prescribed for the National Expenditure Program.
Pimentel referenced this Constitutional provision earlier, pointing out that the hike bloated the budget to almost ₱6 trillion.
“It should be the president kasi presidential form of government tayo eh [because we have a presidential form of government]. The president must be the one requesting or initiating the budget process,” he said.
The minority leader emphasized that this is not the first time that the national budget breached P6 trillion due to unprogrammed funds.
“From my memory, this is the third year in a row na parang naaabuso na ‘yung unprogrammed appropriations,” Pimentel said. “Although it has been done before and nobody questioned it, it doesn’t make it not unconstitutional.”
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. signed into law the ₱5.768-trillion government budget on Dec. 20 despite calls to veto the ₱449.5-billion increase in unprogrammed funds.
Pimentel is also looking at challenging the urgent certification of the national budget by the president, stressing that such certification should no longer be required for a process that is done annually.
“Hindi tuloy nakikita ‘yung final version kasi second and third reading, isang araw lang, pupuwede because of the presidential certification of urgency… Ngayon na batas na, nakikita natin ang mga detalye, so therefore it is the proper time to question ‘yung mga wala sa lugar,” he said.
[Translation: We can’t see the final version because the second and third reading were done in one day, it is allowed due to the presidential certification of urgency… Now that it is already a law, we can see the details, so therefore it is the proper time to question it.]
According to the lawmaker, two things may happen if the issue is taken to the Supreme Court. If it sees the unprogrammed funds are unconstitutional, the item may be vetoed and the government will operate with a budget amended by the high court. If the court declares the whole budget as unconstitutional, the 2023 national spending plan may be reenacted.
CNN Philippines’ correspondent Eimor Santos and digital producer Syrah Inocencio contributed to this story.
