271059/271347/E-02472/E-04036 Concurring and Dissenting Opinion: Justice Maria Filomena D. Singh — Official PDF

Concurring and Dissenting Opinion 11 G.R. Nos. 271347, 278353, E-02472 & E-04036 Budget preparation is the initial phase where the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) issues the Budget Call to all agencies and instrumentalities of the government, requesting for the latter to submit their budget proposals. The Budget Call contains the parameters set by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), a vital group within the Department of Economy, Planning and Development and composed of the country's economic managers, as well as policy guidelines and procedures to aid government agencies in the preparation and submission of their budget proposals. The DBM then consolidates such proposals into the National Expenditure Program (NEP) and the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of ' Finai1cing (BESF). These documents are then presented to the President and the Cabinet for further refinements. Once the NEP and BESF are approved by the President, they will be submitted to Congress as the basis of the general appropriations bill (GAB).21 The BESF embodies the macroeconomic parameters, public sector financial position, projected revenue collections, desired expenditure levels, and budget framework. It also indicates the budget sensitivity, i.e., how the proposed budget will react or be affected by the macroeconomic parameters. The BESF gives Congress the overall fiscal picture in the medium term. It does not contain a detailed list of PAPs. The NEP, on the other hand, contains the list of PAPs. It itemizes each expenditure, e.g., construction and rehabilitation of roads, school-based feeding program, social pension for indigent senior citizens. It specifies the , corr~sponding amo:unt of fundi:ng recommencle<l by the .President for each item. The NEP is a consolidation of all government agency budget proposals based on the technical and financial assessment of PAPs, feasibility studies, past performance, and other factors to justify their funding. The budget legislation or authorization phase covers the time the NEP and BESF are received by Congress, up to the President's approval of the GAA. The Appropriations Committee of the House of Representatives schedules and conducts budget hearings to examine the programs, activities and projects (PAPs) of the different agencies and instrumentalities, which will all be consolidated into the GAB. The GAB is then sponsored in the plenary of the House, and upon approval on third reading, shall be transmitted to the Senate. The Senate Finance Committee may already conduct its own budget hearings, but it can only submit to the Senate plenary the proposed ainendments to the GAB upon formal transmission of the GAB by the House. Both chambers of Congress will then constitute a Bicameral Conference Committee (BCC) for the purpose of harmonizing the disagreeing provisions ' of each House's versi~n of the GAB. This "harmonized" GAB, after approval of each House, shall be transmitted to the President, who will then have the " Id. at 542-543.