Declare ‘pork-like’ provisions of 2015 budget unconstitutional, SC urged

Anti-corruption groups yesterday called on the Supreme Court (SC) to declare unconstitutional certain provisions in the 2015 national budget, including National Budget Circular No. 559 (NBC 559) and some provisions under the Special Purpose Fund.

In a petition filed by anti-corruption groups, led by former national treasurer Leonor Briones, sought to be declared unconstitutional were Sections 70 and 73 of the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA)

Section 70 of the 2015 GAA defines savings as portions or balances of any unreleased appropriations in the budget law which have not been obligated. Section 73 specifies the rules in the realignment of allotment classes and reprioritization of items in the appropriations.

The petitioners asked the SC to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) that would prevent the Executive Department from further implementing the challenged provisions in the 2015 GAA.

“Petitioners call on this Honorable Court to prevent the Legislative and the Executive from making the Constitution or the ruling in the Belgica or Araullo illusory. Whether it is through deceptive or creative schemes, the Executive and the Legislative branches should be prevented from doing indirectly what they cannot legally do directly,” the petition stated.

The Belgica and Araullo decisions pertain to the declaration of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and certain practices under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional.

The other petitioners in the case are lawyer Ramon Acebedo Pedroza, Frances Irene Rallonza Bretana and Mai Palacio Paner who are members of the Scrap the Pork Network; Rodolfo Aranas Fabricante of the Overseas Filipino Workers Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc.; Amorsolo Competente, president of Alert and Concerned Employees for Better SSS; David Diwa, president of National Labor Union; Eleuterio Tuazon, president of the Philippine Association of Labor Unions; Bienvenido Lorque, member of the Board of Directors of United Filipino Seafarer; Leodegario De Guzman, president of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino; Diego Landagan Magpantay of the Citizens Crime Watch-Anti-Corruption Task Force; Alain del Pascua, president of the Katipunan ng mga Anag ng Bayan All Filipino Democratic Movement; Sanlakas through its president Marie Marguerite Lopez and secretary general Jose Aaron Pedroza Jr.; and the Metro Manila Vendors Alliance-Quezon City represented by its secretary general Flora Santos.

Named respondents were Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr., Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Senate President Franklin Drilon, and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte.

Former Sen. Panfilo Lacson was with the petitioners during the filing of their case before the the SC.

In a statement, Lacson said the provisions challenged in the petition are contrary to the rulings of the SC in PDAF and DAP cases.

On top of Sections 70 and 73 of the 2015 GAA, the petitioners named provisions of the Special Purpose Fund that should be declared unconstitutional. These are the the E-Government Fund (for strategic information and communication technology projects), the International Commitment Fund, the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefit Funds, the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Fund, the Pension and Gratuity Fund, and the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Program Fund.

In the case of NBC 559, the petitioners said it should be declared unconstitutional because it was issued in line with Section 73 of the 2015 GAA.

“We are filing the petition before the High Court to take action on the unconstitutionality of the spending for the year 2015 in contraventions of the decisions on the PDAF and the DAP. We believe that the Court should intervene because their decisions have been ignored. Not only that, the Constitution has been ignored and laid aside as well,” Briones, who is now with Social Watch Philippines, said in a statement.