Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon 好色先生TV FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines鈥揟he Department of Budget and Management (DBM) inserted a redefinition of savings in the proposed 2015 national budget to fit Malaca帽ang鈥檚 Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), a move likely to win the nod of a Congress dominated by administration allies, a militant lawmaker said on Thursday.
Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon said he would challenge all the way to the Supreme Court the DBM move to amend the definition of savings in the proposed national expenditure program.
The high court earlier struck down as unconstitutional the DAP as it realigned to agencies outside the executive branch and to programs outside the approved General Appropriations Act (GAA).
The Palace has appealed the unanimous adverse ruling, saying nine petitions against the DAP should be dismissed for lack of merit.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e really attempting to legitimize DAP through the budget. So, they鈥檙e attempting again to mislead the public. They are just fooling the people because what they鈥檙e doing is they are changing the classic definition of savings to fit DAP,鈥� Ridon said at the close of a press forum in Manila.
He conceded that the 鈥減liant鈥� Congress would 鈥渕ost definitely pass鈥� the amendment, but said a remedy was available in the high court.
To challenge in SC
鈥淲e will question that in Congress鈥� But if they are able to assert that for the budget next year, we will oppose that and challenge that in the Supreme Court at the soonest possible time,鈥� Ridon said.
Under the 2014 national budget, savings are defined in two paragraphs as 鈥減ortions or balances鈥� of programmed funds under the approved national budget 鈥渇ree from any obligation or encumbrance鈥� and which are 鈥渟till available鈥� upon the end of abandonment of a project, balances from unpaid compensation due to leaves and vacancies, or balances because of improved budget disbursement and utilization.鈥�
Augmentation is defined as an appropriation 鈥渄etermined to be deficient.鈥� More importantly, the definition clearly states that there shall be no instance where an augmentation from savings be used for a 鈥渘onexistent program activity or project (PAP)鈥� otherwise authorized in national budget.
The proposed 2015 budget carries a lengthier definition of savings and augmentation.
Savings was defined as unreleased or unobligated funds similar to the 2014 GAA, but specifies in its coverage funds that were unreleased due to the failure of agencies to jumpstart, or the 鈥渘oncommencement鈥� of a project approved under the GAA.
The proposal also has a more detailed definition of augmentation, particularly allowing augmentations for funding deficiencies due to 鈥渦nforeseen modifications or adjustments in the PAP or a reassessment in the use, prioritization and/or distribution of resources.鈥�
Reemergence in future
Ridon found such amendments in the definition of savings and augmentation troubling, saying such was an 鈥渁ttempt to legalize DAP and is actually paving the road for DAP鈥檚 reemergence in the near future.鈥�
鈥淚n previous GAAs, there were no such things as 鈥榥oncommencement鈥� or 鈥榰nforeseen modifications.鈥� One strict requirement to determine savings is that the fund is still available after the final discontinuance or abandonment of the PAP. Under the new definition, DBM did away with the requirement of finality, thus expanding the President鈥檚 discretion over public funds and vastly clipping the congressional power of the purse,鈥� Ridon said.