P158-B unprogrammed funds in budget

Senator Grace Poe said the Marcos administration has allocated P158.7 billion in unprogrammed appropriations in the proposed 2025 national budget as it expects a low excess revenue collection for next year.

During the budget deliberations on Thursday, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III raised questions on the provision under the 2024 national budget law that allows the government to utilize idle reserve funds for projects under unprogrammed appropriations.

“Only P158 billion was proposed, P158.7 billion or 2.5 percent for unprogrammed funds. It’s just a small amount,” Poe, who sponsored the 2025 General Appropriations Bill (GAB) and spoke on behalf of the economic managers.

Poe said the 2025 budget no longer retained the so-called “fourth mechanism” included in the 2024 budget law, saying it is “deemed efficient, the excess revenue, especially now that there is an ongoing court case.”

The senator was referring to the petition before the Supreme Court questioning the transfer of PhilHealth’s P90-billion excess fund to the National Treasury, which Pimentel among other petitioners opposed.

The unprogrammed appropriations, as defined by the Department of Budget and Management, provide the government with standby authority to incur additional obligations for priority programs or projects when revenue exceeds expectations, or when additional grants or foreign funds become available.

In his interpellation during the budget hearing, Pimentel said the P450 billion increase made by Congress on the unprogrammed fund for the present year was unconstitutional.

He also said a total of P164.9 billion in idle funds was transferred to the National Treasury.

“If Congress adds P300 billion more, would you tell us that that is an unwise move, not good budget practice?” Pimentel asked.

Poe responded that the economic managers would support such a move, provided Congress could identify a corresponding revenue source.

“If Congress wants to spend P300 billion more, then they should find P300 billion more in revenue,” Poe said.

Pimentel countered her, saying, “It’s like a shortcut. In my opinion, the better budgetary practice, as required by the economic managers, is for Congress to identify a definite source of funding. That is the principle behind a supplemental budget.”

In December last year, Pimentel pointed out the unconstitutionality of the 2024 national budget due to the P450 billion increase in unprogrammed funds, which raised the total budget beyond the original P5.768 trillion proposed by the executive branch.

The executive had initially proposed P281.9 billion in unprogrammed appropriations, but this figure grew to P731.4 billion in the final version of the budget.