Justice Hernando: Removing unprogrammed appropriations would remove risks

Supreme Court (SC) Associate Justice Ramon Hernando on Tuesday said he believes that removing unprogrammed appropriations (UAs) in the national budget would remove the risk for misuse and abuse.

“You remove the UAs, you remove the risk for misuse,” Hernando said during the oral arguments on consolidated petitions challenging the funds in the budget.

Hernando classified the UAs as “riders,” which is prohibited under the Article VI, Section 25(2) of the 1987 Constitution. 

“They are riders because they are not— they do not provide for specific sources of funding kasi nga sa kinabukasan pa sila makikita kung merong excess,” he said.

(They are riders because they do not provide for specific sources of funding since it will only be determined in the future if there is any excess.)

Hernando said there was also a question on who could release the unprogrammed appropriations, whether it was the president or the secretary of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM)

“I said earlier that this unconstitutional framework, where you have UAs chained to the General Appropriations Act, eh hindi po magkasya sa isang maleta eh. Several maletas,” he said.

(I said earlier that this unconstitutional framework, where you have UAs chained to the General Appropriations Act, does not fit in just one suitcase. It would take several suitcases.)

“Kaya po ang dapat gawin natin diyan ay to cut off those chains with a chainsaw. Hindi lang knife. Kasi hindi po kayang i-cut off ng simpleng knife ‘yan,” he added.

(So what we should do there is to cut off those chains with a chainsaw, not just a knife, because a simple knife cannot cut those off.)

Meanwhile, Hernando said the United States (US) has no UAs.

This came after Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe mentioned that the country’s Constitution is patterned after the US Constitution.

“Nabanggit ninyo ang US, after whom our Constitution was patterned. Sa aking intindi sa budget process sa America, eh wala ata silang unprogrammed appropriations. Kaya nga po nagkakaroon sila ng government lockdown eh,” he said.

(You mentioned the US, after whom our Constitution was patterned. From my understanding of the budget process in America, they do not have unprogrammed appropriations. That is why they end up having government shutdowns.)

He said that US President Donald Trump must still seek budget from Congress for the conflict in the Middle East.

“Kung makikita nga po ni Donald Trump itong UAs natin, he will turn into someone like Jerry Maguire… kung ito pong UA makita ni Donald Trump, maniwala kayo sa akin, sasabihin niya sa UA, UA you complete me, because I can continue with my wars in the Middle East without Congressional approval and oversight,” he said. 

(If Donald Trump were to see our UAs, he would turn into someone like Jerry Maguire… if he saw these UAs, believe me, he would say to the UA, “UA, you complete me,” because he could continue his wars in the Middle East without Congressional approval and oversight.)

The next oral argument will be held on June 2. — RSJ, GMA News