Sen. Pimentel explains why the insertion by Congress of more Money into the Budget is Unconstitutional

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Senator Koko Pimentel recently explained why he is opposing the insertion of more Money into the Unprogrammed Appropriations by Congress into the 2024 National Budget. ‘Mabuhay po kayo' (Kudos to you), Sen. Pimentel for continuing to fight for the Interests of the Filipino People. I have transcribed below what he said in the Video: 

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'Hindi puedeng gumastos ng Pera kung walang Batas na nag o authorize sa pag gastos. Ang Tawag dun sa pag gastos na iyon ay "Appropriations". Kasama diyan ang "Unprogrammed Appropriations"'. 

'So ano ang Utos diyan ng Konstitusyon? Bawal taasan ng Kongreso ang ni-request ng Pangulo, ng Presidente. Puedeng i approve as-is, puedeng bawasan, hindi puedeng taasan. So pagdating sa Unprogrammed Appropriations, kasi ang pag Presinta ng Budget ganito: Tatlong ano yan, tatlong Chapter, let us say Chapter, gamitin na lang natin ang Salitang Chapter.'

'Chapter One, "Programmed Appropriations". Chapter Two, "Automatic Appropriations". Chapter Three, Unprogrammed Appropriations. Tatlo yan, ngayon lahat merong, merong Amounts yan, ang, as proposed by the President.'

'Pagdating sa Programmed Appropriations, four trillion Pesos ang Proposal ni Presidente. Anong ginawa ng Kongreso? Four trillion Pesos din, so walang Problema. Pagdating sa Automatic Appropriations, 1.7 trillion Pesos yan, sa, pagdating, galing sa President's Budget. Ano ang in approve ng Kongreso? 1.7 trillion Pesos din, walang Problema, hindi namin in-increase.'

'Pagdating sa Chapter Three, sa Third Part, Unprogrammed Appropriations, ano ang hiningi ng Pangulo? Two hundre eighty one billion Pesos. Ano ang in-approve ng Kongreso? Seven hundred thirty billion Pesos. Tinaasan ng Kongreso ng four hundred fifty billion Pesos.'

'Yan ang Isyu ko. yan ang sinasabi ko na hindi na puedeng gawin. Kung ang ginawa ng Kongreso e rinetain din sa two hundred one billion Pesos ang Unprogrammed Appropriations, wala akong Isyu pagdating dun sa, sa Provision ng Constitution na bawal taasan ng Kongreso ang hinihinging halaga ng Presidente.'

'Tandaan natin ha, sana, hindi naman ito ma de deny ng DBM, pati sa Unprogrammed Appropriations, meron pong Request ang Presidente, may level siya na Request, yan yung two hundred eighty one billion Pesos ang Level na hiningi ng Presidente pagdating sa Unprogrammed Appropriations.'

'Ang Tanong: Puede bang taasan ng Kongreso yan? Kasi nga Presidential Form of Government tayo, hindi tayo Parliamentary System.'

English Translation: 

(Money cannot be spent if there is no Law that authorizes the spending. That spending is called "Appropriations". That includes "Unprogrammed Appropriations".

So what is the Order of the Constitution? Congress is not allowed to increase what the President has requested. It can approve as-is, it can reduce it, it can't increase it. So when it comes to Unprogrammed Appropriations, because the presentation of the Budget is like this: What are those three, three Chapters, let's say Chapter, let's just use the word Chapter.

Chapter One, "Programmed Appropriations". Chapter Two, "Automatic Appropriations". Chapter Three, Unprogrammed Appropriations. There are three, now they all have, there are Amounts, as proposed by the President.

When it comes to Programmed Appropriations, the President's Proposal is four trillion Pesos. What did Congress do? Four trillion Pesos too, so no problem. When it comes to Automatic Appropriations, that's 1.7 trillion Pesos, when it comes, from the President's Budget. What does Congress approve? 1.7 trillion pesos too, no problem, they didn't increase it.'

When it comes to Chapter Three, in the Third Part, Unprogrammed Appropriations, what did the President ask for? Two hundred eighty one billion Pesos. What did Congress approve? Seven hundred thirty billion pesos. Congress raised the Budget by four hundred fifty billion Pesos.

That's my Issue. that's what I'm saying can't be done anymore. If what Congress has done is to keep the Unprogrammed Appropriations at two hundred one billion Pesos, I have no Issue when it comes to the Provision of the Constitution that Congress is not allowed to increase the amount requested by the President.

Let's remember, I hope, DBM will not deny this, even in Unprogrammed Appropriations, the President has a Request, he has a Requested level, that is the level of two hundred eighty one billion Pesos that the President requested when it comes to Unprogrammed Appropriations.'

The Question now is: Can Congress increase that? Because we are a Presidential Form of Government, we are not a Parliamentary System.')

Here is the Link to the original Video on TikTok by the SMNI News Account: https://www.tiktok.com/@smninews/video/7320018930481810690

SOURCE: SMNI News TikTok Video, 01/04/24 {Archived Link}

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Sen. Pimentel explains why the insertion by Congress of more Money into the Budget is Unconstitutional