Budget Secretary Amenah Pangandaman reiterated on Wednesday that the additional unprogrammed appropriation funds worth P449.5 billion in the 2024 national budget are not unconstitutional.

On the sidelines of the Kapihan sa Manila Bay forum, Pangandaman addressed the Albay First Representative Edcel Lagman’s Supreme Court appeal, which questioned the legitimacy of the “excess” in unprogrammed appropriations.

Lagman questioned the increase in the allotment in the petition, pointing out that the requested appropriation was just P281.9 billion. However, P731.4 billion is the amount of unprogrammed cash for the national budget for 2024.

According to Pangandaman, these funds are still constitutional since the unprogrammed appropriations are not included in the national budget.

“In our definition, it is not unconstitutional. It can only be released if there are certain triggers that will occur,” Pangandaman said.

According to the Budget Department, the unprogrammed items in the 2024 budget are not allocated automatically and can only be released if certain funding requirements are satisfied.

For example, the government, through the Bureau of Treasury, must be able to collect excess revenue from its revenue target or any identified non-tax revenue sources, as well as new revenue from approved or foreign loans and grants.

“You should have extra revenue, with certification from the Bureau of the Treasury. If we are called, we will provide whatever data and information that is needed from us,” Pangandaman said.

The Budget Chief stated that the DBM welcomes the petition filed before the Supreme Court as it would shed light on the constitutionality of the unprogrammed appropriations in the 2024 national budget.

“If someone sends (a petition) to the Supreme Court, we welcome it. Because, from our end, it’s constitutional,” Pangandaman said.

Pangandaman is among the respondents in the petition along with Senate President Juan Miguel Zubiri, Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez, Senator Sonny Angara, Representative Elizaldy Co, Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, and former national treasurer Rosalia De Leon.

Senate minority leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said that the P450 billion addition to the unprogrammed appropriations made by Congress is ‘unconstitutional’ since it would raise the entire national budget above the P5.768 trillion amount that the President had suggested, to P6.498 trillion.

Angara, however, defended the budget bill’s final wording, claiming that the constitutional provision solely referred to cash designated for specific projects or programmed allocations.

“[Pursuant] to the constitutional provision under Section 29 (1), Article VI, it is prescribed that, ‘No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.'” DBM said.