By Perfecto T. Raymundo
MANILA, Sept. 8 (PNA) — The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday ordered the government to comment on the petition seeking to declare as unconstitutional some provisions of the 2015 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
During the deliberations of the SC en banc, it directed the respondents led by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa, Jr., Department of Budget and Management (DBM) Secretary Florencio Abad, Senate President Franklin M. Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. to submit their respective comments on the said petition.
The SC gave the respondents a period of 10 days from notice within which to file their respective comments on the petition filed by former national treasurer Leonor Briones, now with Social Watch Philippines.
Former Senator Panfilo Lacson has joined the petitioners in their clamor to declare some provisions of the 2015 GAA as unconstitutional on the belief that the government has revived the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and certain practices under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
The SC did not issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) which would stop the spending of the 2015 GAA.
Meantime, the ponente of the case, Associate Justice Mariano C. Del Castillo has inhibited himself from the case.
Hence, the case shall be raffled with the 14 other SC justices.
In a petition for certiorari filed before the SC, the petitioners asked the SC to rule as illegal the alleged PDAF and DAP-tainted provisions in the 2015 GAA.
The other petitioners are Atty. Ramon Acebedo Pedroza, Frances Irene Rallonza Bretana and Mai Palacio Paner, who are members of the Scrap the Pork Network; Rodolfo Aranas Fabricante, of the Overseas Filipino Workers Chamber of Commerce and Industry Inc.; Amorsolo Competente, president of Alert and Concerned Employees for Better SSS; David Diwa, president of National Labor Union; Eleuterio Tuazon, president of the Philippine Association of Labor Unions; Bienvenido Lorque, member of the Board of Directors of United Filipino Seafarers; Leodegario De Guzman, president of the Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino; Diego Landagan Magpantay, of the Citizens Crime Watch-Anti-Corruption Task Force; Alain del Pascua, president of the Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan All Filipino Democratic Movement; Sanlakas through its president Marie Marguerite Lopez and secretary general Jose Aaron Pedroza Jr.; and the Metro Manila Vendors Alliance-Quezon City represented by its secretary general Flora Santos.
The petitioners asked the SC to rule as unconstitutional Sections 70 and 73 of the 2015 GAA.
They argued that Section 70 of the 2015 GAA defines savings as portions or balances of any unreleased appropriations in the 2015 GAA which have not been obligated.
They claimed that Section 73 of the 2015 GAA speaks of the rules in the realignment of allotment classes and reprioritization of items in the appropriations.
They also asked SC to rule as illegal the National Budget Circular No. 559 (NBC 559) and some provisions under the Special Purpose Fund.
They further asked the SC to issue a TRO that will stop the government from further implementing the challenged provisions in the 2015 GAA. (PNA)