Noynoy opposes bicameral conference committee report on the P1.415 trillion budget for 2009

"I objected to the Bicameral Conference Committee report on the 2009 General Appropriations bill because it will allow the Executive to continue the unconstitutional practice of releasing funds over the amount appropriated by Congress."

"Under Executive Order 292 (Administrative Code of 1987) Book VI, Chapter I, Section 2 (8), fiscal year refers to the period beginning with the first day of January and ending with the thirty-first day of December of each calendar year."

"Article VI, Section 25 (7) of the Constitution states that 'if, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress."

"In 2006, the Executive requested for P 1.193 trillion to run the government in a 'fiscally prudent' manner. In response, Congress appropriated P 1.187 trillion in the 2007 General Appropriations Act (GAA), which should have provided funds from January 1 to December 31."

"However, the 2007 GAA took effect on April 8, 2007 instead of January 1, 2007. By force of law, the Executive was operating on a re-enacted budget from January to March 2007. This re-enacted amount should have been deducted from the total amount appropriated in the 2007 GAA and reverted back to the national treasury."

"The Executive unilaterally decided to use the appropriated budget for only 9 months, even though these funds were intended for the entire fiscal year. As a result, the Executive was able to release P195.31 billion in excess of what was approved by Congress, allowing the Executive to spend more than the amount they originally requested, effectively usurping the power of the purse which constitutionally belongs solely to Congress."

"To prevent this unconstitutional practice from taking place under this GAA, we proposed the following safeguard, which was adopted by the Senate but was consequently removed in the Bicameral Conference Committee report:

The provisions of this Act shall take effect after fifteen days following its publication in the Official Gazette. Provided, however, that in the event that this Act takes effect at any date other than January 1, 2009, an amount equivalent to the re-enacted portion of the 2008 General Appropriations Act that was expended pending the effectivity of this Act shall be considered as withheld portion and shall automatically revert back to the National Treasury."

"The rejection of this proposal fails to take advantage of the opportunity to remind the Executive that there is a limit to what they can spend. Agreeing to this, in effect, would make one complicit to this nefarious practice."