MANILA — The Supreme Court is set to address a critical legal dispute over a controversial provision in the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which permits the government to tap surplus funds from state-owned corporations.
Oral arguments for two petitions, scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 4, will examine claims that this provision gives the executive branch unchecked spending authority.
At the heart of the petitions is Special Provision No. 1(d) in the Unprogrammed Appropriations, which allows the government to use surplus funds from government-owned or -controlled corporations (GOCCs) to finance certain projects.
Critics argue that this provision, potentially enacted improperly, undermines constitutional budgetary processes, violates the separation of powers, and compromises fiscal transparency.
The first petition was filed by former Senate president Aquilino Pimentel III, along with labor and civil society groups such as Sentro ng mga Nagkakaisa at Progresibong Manggagawa and the Public Services Labor Independent Confederation Foundation Inc., as well as the Philippine Medical Association.
Legal experts, including Dante Gatmaytan and Ibarra Gutierrez, have also joined the petition.
A separate petition, backed by left-wing political figures from Bayan Muna—Neri Colmenares, Teodoro Casiño, Carlos Zarate, and Ferdinand Gaite—also challenges the provision.
The respondents in the case include key government officials, such as Speaker Martin Romualdez, Senate President Francis Escudero, Finance Secretary Ralph Recto, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and PhilHealth President Emmanuel Ledesma Jr. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was named in the second petition.
The petitioners argue that the provision allows the executive branch to reallocate funds outside the normal congressional appropriations process, potentially violating the Constitution’s provisions on budget execution and fund transfers.
ia/mnm
