271059/271347/E-02472/E-04036  Concurring and Dissenting Opinion: Justice Jhosep Y. Lopez — Official PDF

Concurring and Dissenting Opinion 16 G.R. Nos. 271059, 271347, E-02472 & E-04036 , Fund, the Pension and. Gratuity Fund, and the Contingent Fund. On the other hand, Automatic Appropriations are allocations for goven1ment programs that are already mandated and authorized by existing laws, like the National Tax Allotment, which is provided under Chapter I, Title III of the Local Government Code of 1991. 67 • Aside from the Programmed General Appropriations and t..he Automatic Appropriations, the NEP also includes allocations denominated as Unprogrammed Appropriations or Unprograinmed Funds, which are generally considered standby appropriations to be utilized and released for specified purposes, only when certain conditions are met, such as when revenue collections exceed targets. Both the Programmed General Appropriations and Unprdgrmnmed General Appropriations are categorized as New General Appropriations in the NEP.68 The BESF and the NEP, along with the President's Budget Message, •are then transmitted to the Congress by August ◊fthe'previous fiscal year.69 In Araullo v. President Aqu.ino III, 70 this Court discussed in detail the process after the submission of the budget doc;uments to Congress: Initially, the President's Budget is assigned to the House of Representatives' Appropriations Committee on First Reading. The Appropriations Committee and its various Sub-Committees schedule and conduct budget hearings to examine the P APs of the departments and agencies. Thereafter,. the House of Representatives drafts the General Appropriations Bill (GAB). The GAB is sponsored, presented and defended by the House of Representatives' Appropriations Committee and Sub-Committees in • plenary session. As with other laws. the GAB is approved on Third Reading before the House of Representatives' version is transmitted to the Senate. After tr~mission, tlJce Senate conducts its ovm committee hearings on the GA.B. To expedite proceedings, the Senate may conduct its committee hearings simultaneously with the HouS(' of Representatives' deliberations. TI1e Senate's Finance Committee and its Sub-Committees may submit the propo~e<l° amend..ments to the GAB to the plenary of the Senate only after t.'le House of Representatives has formally transmitted its version to the Senate. The Senate version of the GAB is likevvise approved on Third Reading. The House of Representatives sml the Senate then constitute a panel each to sit in the Bicamei·al Conforence Committee for the purpose of discussing .arid ham10111Zh1g the conflictirig Provisions of their versions of the GAB. The "hannornzed" version of the GAB is next presented to the 67 Basic Concepts ij' Budge/mg, DBM Web:i;e,_https:1/www.dbm.gov.phiwp-content/uploads/ 2012/03/ PGB-Bl.pdf, la:;t accessed 011 October 14, :..02). ■ u ' 6-> Budget f;yc!e, DBf,.1 \Vebshe, htt;)S!//wwv,.dbm.gov.ph/wp-contentluploads/Executive20% Summary/ 2016,'Budgd%2d Cycle.pdf. fast acce:>sed on October !O, 2024. t9 ""' "' ,,,, "" •• , , ,.,,m ,, '"~,,, ! • """" ,, p,.'1"' ;,,m, m, n