271059/271347/E-02472/E-04036 Concurring Opinion: Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo — Official PDF

Concurring Opinion 14 G.R. Nos. 271059, 271347, E-02472, and E-04036 hands," because to do so, "may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny."47 However, this separation is not absolute. The system allows for "checks and balances" because, in reality, "no one department is able to act without the cooperation of at least one of the other departments."48 This necessary cooperation between the branches of government, especially between the Legislative and the Executive, is highlighted in the budget process. The budget process has been explained in detail by this Court in Araullo v. Aquino.49 Briefly, the Executive starts the budget process through the Budget Preparation Phase. The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issues a Budget Call and ends with the transmission of the President's Budget, which includes NEP and the BESF, to Congress. Once the President's Budget is received by Congress, the Budget Legislation Phase begins. After the proceedings of each House, the General Appropriations Bill (GAB) is drafted and harmonized by both Houses of Congress. Thereafter, the GAB is transmitted to the president for review, who then has the discretion to veto particular items or identify ones for conditional implementation. Once the GAB is passed into law, it becomes the GAA. This signals the start of the Budget Execution Phase which is again spearheaded by the president through the DBM. Finally, the Accountability Phase entails the DBM's assessment of whether or not government funds have been effectively utilized and the Commission on Audit's assessment of whether these funds were properly spent. 50 Hence, as recognized in the ponencia: Consistent with the architecture of the Constitution, the aspects of the power of the purse are distributed among .con~titutipnal departments: the Executive, i.e., the president, prepares the budget; the Legislature-that is Congress, with the House acting first-authorizes or appropriates; then the president spends or executes. The Legislature has no participation in the post-enactment or execution stage.51 (Citations omitted) 47 Joseph Postell & Randolph May, The Myth of the State Nondelegation Doctrines, Center for the Study of the Administrative State, Antonin Scalia Law School, available at https://administrativelawreview .org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/07 /7 4 .2-Postell- May _Final_crop.pdf, 263,268 (2022) (last accessed on December 23, 2024). 48 FR. JOAQUIN BERNAS, nm 1987 CONSTITUTION OF THE REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 678 (2009). 49 737 Phil. 457 (2014) [Per J. Bersamin, En Banc]. 50 Id. 51 Ponencia, p. 61. f