The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said Thursday it will seek clarification from the Supreme Court due to operational issues that may arise from its ruling voiding parts of the 2024 and 2025 national budgets over unauthorized congressional increases that exceeded the President’s recommended expenditure limits.
During the DBM budget briefing in the Senate, Secretary Kim Robert de Leon said the agency has been carefully reviewing the High Court’s decision to assess its legal, fiscal, technical, and operational implications to determine appropriate next steps.
“We are discussing and probably this is one of the items as mentioned by the Office of the Solicitor General that we will be seeking clarification from the Supreme Court because there are a lot of operational issues that may arise from this,” de Leon said.
“There are unreleased appropriations…There are also unobligated allotments on the part of the agency and there are also unpaid obligations…So, these are the things that we are listing down and we’ll be closely coordinating with the Office of the Solicitor General,” he also added.
Sen. Imee Marcos asked if the DBM will stop payments on obligations following the ruling that declared certain provisions of the 2024 and 2025 national budgets unconstitutional.
“What is the effect on the DBM? Hihintuin muna lahat ng bayarin? Dahil hindi tayo sigurado, we’re in limbo. Medyo alanganin. What’s the legal basis, if any, will you have for further releases and payments under the affected appropriations?” Marcos asked.
De Leon said that is what they will have to seek clarification from the Supreme Court.
“As of this time, Your Honor, we’re scheduled to meet with the Office of the Solicitor General to craft the next steps,” he said.
De Leon noted that the subject of the ruling in the 2025 General Appropriations Act includes the Special Road Fund, which he said has an “unreleased portion for 2025”.
“You Honor, on the release of what remains to be unreleased from the 2024 US (unprogrammed appropriations), certainly, we will no longer release because its validity is until noontime of December 31, 2025,” de Leon also added.
Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian said he instructed Sen. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito, Committee on Finance chairman, that the Senate must comply with the Supreme Court decision.
“In fact, kung makikita natin ang 2026 budget, di unconstitutional yung 2026 budget except for those two provisions na kailangan pa rin i-clarify. Kasi yung two provisions, yung ang spirit ng unprogrammed appropriations,” Gatchalian said in a chance interview.
After no other senators asked questions, Ejercito endorsed the P2.9 billion proposed DBM budget for next year for plenary consideration.
The DBM budget covers the agency’s lump sum funds, budgetary support for government-owned and controlled corporations, and allocations to local government units.
De Leon said the DBM’s proposed budget under the National Expenditure Program was reduced from P5.486 billion to P2.9 billion, but assured that no public service would be adversely affected by the budget cut.