271059/271347/E-02472/E-04036  Separate Concurring Opinion: Justice Japar B. Dimaampao — Official PDF

Separate Concurring Opinion !5 G.R. Nos. 271059, 271347, E-02472, and E-04036 First, the Executive effectively determines which PAPs- between those under the programmed appropriations and those under unprogrammed appropriations - will be funded from the excess revenue collections in any one of the identified non-tax revenue sources. Second, it likewise determines which among the P APs listed under unprogrammed appropriations will receive funding from such excess collections ahead of the others. As regards the first stage, the esteemed ponente astutely observed that "there is no standard for implementation laid out in the law identifying where the funds should go .first, whether to PAPs under the programmed appropriations or those under the unprogrammed appropriations. Thill consistently blurs the distinction between the programmed and unprogrammed appropriations. "48 At this juncture, it must be accentuated that these concerns are made • possible by the fact that the first trigger uses an individual instead of an aggregate standard. As noted by the ponencia, Republic Act No. 10651 or the 2015 GAA gravitated towards the use of an individual standard in operationalizipg the use of the stand-by funds. 49 This course of action amended the conditions for the use of the unprogrammed appropriations which had been analyzed in Araullo v. Aquino,5° where the Court leaned in favor of the adoption of a trigger in which the aggregate revenue collection must first .exceed the aggregate revenue target before the unprogrammed appropriations may be utilized. • The pertinent discussion in Araullo was worded in the following prose: However, the requirement that revenue collections exceed the original revenue targets was to be construed in light of the purpose for which the unprogrammed funds were incorporated in the GAAs as standby appropriations to support .additional expenditures for certain priority, PAPs should the revenue collections exceed the resource targets assumed in the . budget or whe°: additional foreign project loan, pr?ceed,s were realized. The unprogrammed funds were included in the GAAs to provide ready cover so as not to delay the implementation of the PAPs should new or additional revenue sources be realized during the year. Given the tenor of the certifications, the unprogrammed funds were thus not yet supported by the corresponding resources. The revenue targets stated in the BESF were intended to address the funding requirements of the proposed progrannned appropriations. In contrast, the unprogrammed funds, as standby appropriations, were to be released only when there were revenues in excess of what the programmed appropriations required. As such, the revenue targets should be considered as a wh,ole, not individually; otherv;ise, we would be dealing 48 Ponencia, p. 6&. 49 Id. at 54. 50 737 Phil. 457 (2014) [Per J. Bersamin, En Banc].