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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Lagman: 2024 GAB constitutional even with planned CIF realignments

Lagman: 2024 GAB constitutional even with planned CIF realignments

Published Sep 28, 2023 08:25 am

At A Glance

  • Independent minority solon Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman has defended the constitutionality of the House-approved 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) in relation to the planned realignment of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) within the measure. 

Lagman urges Marcos Jr. to free De LimaAlbay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman

Independent minority solon Albay 1st district Rep. Edcel Lagman has defended the constitutionality of the House-approved 2024 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) in relation to the planned realignment of confidential and intelligence funds (CIFs) within the measure.

"The contention of former Supreme Court (SC) Justice Adolf Azcuna that the projected reallocation of [CIF] violates the Constitution is not correct," Lagman said in a statement Thursday afternoon, Sept. 28.

"Because the realignment is within the totality of the expenditure program proposed by the President," noted the lawyer-congressman.

On Wednesday night, Sept. 27, the House of Representatives voted 296-3-0 (yes-no-abstain) in favor of approving the P5.768-trillion GAB or proposed national budget on third and final reading.

Earlier that day, the House leadership made a "collective decision" to strip civilian agencies and departments of their CIFs under next year's spending plan. These special lump sum funds will then be reallocated for the purpose of addressing the "escalating threats in the West Philippine Sea".

Agencies like the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency (NICA), National Security Council (NSC), Philippine Coast Guard (PCG), and the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) have been identified as potential recipients of these CIFs.

But this shouldn't matter since the GAB amount won't change, Lagman said.

"In other words, it (CIF realignment) is a process of subtraction and addition of allocations which does not breach the ceiling," he said.

The basis of GAB, the National Expenditure Program (NEP), emanates from the executive branch or Malacañang. The legislature or Congress (composed of the House of Representatives and Senate) cannot change the amount indicated in the NEP during the legislative process.

"The Congress, more specifically the House of Representatives where appropriation measures originate, can amend, modify, delete, realign, reduce, increase, and reallocate items of expenditure in the NEP as long as the ceiling of the total expenditure budget proposed by the President for the entire government is not exceeded," explained Lagman.

"The reallocation of [CIFs] from one department or agency to another is merely a transfer of allocation from one office to another which does not result in exceeding the total ceiling proposed in the NEP," he said.

CIFs under the 2024 NEP submitted to the House total P9.2 billion. The confidential funds amount to P4.3 billion, while the intelligence funds are at P4.9 billion.

So far, the House Committee on Appropriations has identified for realignment the P650-million confidential funds allocated to the Office of the Vice President (OVP) and Department of Education (DepEd) in the 2024 GAB.

Both offices are under Vice President Sara Duterte.

Related Tags

general appropriations bill national expenditure program Edcel Lagman
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