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SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
'13 
JUL -8 P 5 :24 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
SENATE BILL NO. 
661 
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Impoundment refers to the refusal of the President, for whatever 
reason, to release funds appropriated by Congress. It is the failure to spend 
or obligate budget authority of any type. 
While 
its 
constitutional 
conferment 
is 
not 
expressed, 
the 
Administrative Code has given the President specific authority, when in his 
judgment the public interest requires and upon due notice to the head of 
office concerned, to suspend or otherwise stop further expenditure of funds 
allotted for any agency. 
Of recent times however, this presidential prerogative has been 
misused and abused, and has emasculated Congress' authority to check the 
President's discretionary power to spend public funds. In effect, the 
President seems to have a vast and unbridled control over the national 
budget. 
This bill seeks to increase congressional oversight and to limit 
executive 
influence 
over 
specific 
appropriations 
in 
the 
General 
Appropriations Act. This undertaking is urgently needed in the light of the 
current economic crisis confronting the whole world, the consequences of 
which are deemed to severely affect our country in the coming years. 
For these reasons, the approval of this bill is being earnestly 
requested. 
, 
• 
JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
I 


, ' 
Senuh 
tl1>th;\, llf til~ ,~HtvinfU 
SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
'13 
JUL -8 P 5 :24 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
SENATE 
SENATE BILL NO. 
861 
INTRODUCED BY SENATOR JOSEPH VICTOR G. EJERCITO 
THE BUDGET IMPOUNDMENT CONTROL ACT 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the 
Philippines in Congress assembled: 
SECTION 1. Title. -This is Act shall be known as "The Budget 
Impoundment Control Act 2013" 
SEC. 2. Declaration 0/ Policy. -It is the policy of the State to 
formulate and implement a National Budget that is truly an instrument 
of national development. Towards this end, all appropriations, except 
those which shall be deferred, rescinded, reserved, or otherwise withheld 
in the General Appropriations Act, shall be released within the first 
semester of the year through the issuance of advices of allotment in 
accordance with approved work and financial plans, and shall be utilized 
according to the purposes provided in the General Appropriations Act. 
Any deferral, rescission or reservation of appropriations in the General 
Appropriations Act shall be in accordance with this Act. 
2 
SEC. 3. Definition o/Terms. -For purposes of this Act: 
(a) Rescission - means. cancellation of all or part of an enacted 
appropriation, which has not yet been spent or obligated. 
(b) Reservation -
means imposition of reserves on appropriated 
amounts for government expenditures. 
(c) Deferral of releases - means withholding or delaying the release of 
appropriated amounts provided for projects or activities. 
(d) Impoundment resolution - means a joint resolution of both Houses 
of Congress expressing its approval of a rescission, reservation or 
deferral of an appropriation or several appropriation items as 
proposed by the President. 
(e) Advice of allotment -
the formal document issued by the 
Department 
of Budget and 
Management, 
which 
contains 
authorizations, conditions, and amount of obligations that an 
agency can incur pursuant to a legislative appropriation. 


, ' 
(I) Work-and-financial plan - the monthly breakdown of financial 
requirements and physical performance targets of an agency. 
(g) Appropriations - unless otherwise described or specified herein, 
the term appropriations refers to the appropriations included in 
the annual General Appropriations Act. 
SEC. 4. Rescission and Reservation of a Budget Appropriation. -
Whenever the President, upon the recommendation of the Secretary of 
the Department of Budget and Management, determines that all or part 
of any budget appropriation will not be required to carry out the full 
objectives or scope of programs for which it is provided, or that such 
budget appropriation should be rescinded for fiscal policy or other 
reasons, including the termination of authorized projects or activities, or 
whenever all or part of any budget appropriation for the current fiscal 
year is to be reserved from obligation for such fiscal year, the President 
shall transmit to both Houses of Congress a special message specifYing: 
1. The amount of budget appropriation which he proposes to be 
rescinded or which is to be so reserved; 
2. Any account, department, agency or instrumentality of the 
government to which such budget appropriation is available for 
obligation, and the specific projects or governmental functions 
involved; 
3. The reasons why the budget appropriations should be rescinded 
or is to be so reserved; 
4. The estimated fiscal, economic and budgetary effect of the 
proposed rescission or reservation; and 
5. All facts, circumstances and considerations relating to or 
bearing upon the proposed rescission or reservation, and the 
estimated effect of the proposed rescission or reservation upon 
the purposes, programs, activities and projects for which such 
appropriation is provided. 
SEC. 5. Approval of Rescission or Reservation. -Both Houses of 
Congress shall act on the proposed rescission or reservation within sixty 
(60) calendar days after the receipt of such proposal from the President 
by issuing a joint impoundment resolution: Provided, That if the 
President's special message is received within the period of less than 
sixty (60) calendar days before the end of a regular session, the 
President's message shall be deemed to have been submitted on the first 
day of the succeeding regular session of Congress and the sixty (60) day 
period referred to in this Section shall commence on the day after such 
first day. If Congress does not issue an impoundment resolution within 
the specified period, the President shall not proceed with the rescission 
or reservation procedures. Provided, however, that in the event of a 
Congressional approval to rescind, the funds corresponding to the 
rescinded appropriations shall revert to the unappropriated surplus of 
the general fund and shall not be made available for expenditure for any 
purpose except as provided for by a subsequent legislative enactment. 
3 


SEC. 6. Use of Reserves. -When changes in conditions during the 
year justify the use of the reserved appropriations which have been 
imposed under this Act or under the General Appropriations Act, the 
amount involved shall be allocated back for the use by, and upon the 
request of the Department, office or agency on whose appropriation the 
reserve was originally imposed. 
SEC. 7. Deferral of Releases. -
a. Whenever the President, the Secretary of Budget and Management, 
the head of any department, agency or instrumentality of the 
Government proposes to defer the release of any appropriation for a 
specific purpose, program, activity, or project, the President shall 
transmit to the House of Representatives and the Senate a special 
message specifying: 
1. The amount of the appropriation proposed to be deferred; 
2. Any account, department, agency or instrumentality of the 
Government to which such appropriation is available for 
obligation, and the specific projects or governmental functions 
involved; 
3. The period of time during which the appropriation is proposed 
to be deferred; 
4. The reasons for the proposed deferral, including any legal 
authority invoked by him to justify the proposed deferral; 
S. The estimated fiscal, economic and budgetary effect of the 
proposed deferral; 
6. All facts, circumstances and considerations relating to or 
bearing upon the proposed deferral and the decision to effect 
the proposed deferral, including an analysis of such facts, 
circumstances and considerations in terms of their application 
to any legal authority and specific elements of legal authority 
invoked by him to justify such proposed deferral, and the 
estimated effect of the proposed deferral upon the objects, 
purposes, program, activities and projects for which such 
appropriation is provided. 
b. 
A deferral may not be proposed for any period of time extending 
beyond the end of the fiscal year in which the special message 
proposing 
the 
deferral 
was 
transmitted 
to 
the 
House 
of 
Representatives and the Senate. 
SEC. 8. Approval of Release DeferraL -Both Houses of Congress 
shall act on the proposed deferral within sixty (60) calendar days after 
the receipt of the proposal from the President: Provided That if the 
President's special message is received within a period of less than sixty 
(60) calendar days before the end of a regular session, the President's 
message shall be deemed to have been submitted on the first day of the 
succeeding regular session of Congress and the sixty (60) day period 
referred to in this Section shall commence on the day after such first 
4 


day. If Congress does not issue an impoundment resolution within the 
specified period, the President shall not proceed with the deferral 
procedures. 
SEC. 9. Submission of Quarterly Reports. -Within thirty (30) days 
after the end of each quarter, the Secretary of the Department of Budget 
and Management shall submit to the Committee on Appropriations of the 
House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, a 
list of releases made out of reserved and deferred appropriations, and 
comparative statements showing the annual general appropriations, the 
annual program of continuing and automatic appropriations, and the 
corresponding releases of allotments and cash allocations for each 
department, agency, corporation and fund: Provided, That the releases 
from each lump-sum or special-purpose fund shall be supported with 
schedules indicating the specific departments/agencies, corporations or 
entities which received the fund releases and the purposes of such 
releases. The quarterly reports shall also include a cumulative summary 
of all appropriations rescinded, deferred or reserved. 
SEC. 10. Mode of Transmittal of the Special Message of the 
President - The President shall transmit to Congress at any time during 
the budget year but not later than the fifteenth day of October of the 
budget year the special message which may include one or more 
proposals for impoundment, reservation, or deferral on one or more 
appropriation items through the Committee on Finance of the Senate and 
the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives. 
SEC. 11. Penal Provision. -Any violation of the Sections 2,4,5,6,7,8, 
and 9 of this Act shall be punished by of fine not exceeding Five Hundred 
Thousand Pesos (P500,OOO.OO) and the penalty of perpetual special 
disqualification. 
SEC. 12. Repealing Clause. -All laws, decrees, executive orders, 
letters of instructions, letters of implementation, rules and regulations or 
parts thereof inconsistent with the provisions of this Act are hereby 
repealed, modified, superseded or amended accordingly. 
SEC. 13. Effectivity Clause. -This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) 
days after its complete publication in the Official Gazette or in at least 
two (2) national newspapers of ,general circulation, whichever comes 
earlier. 
Approved, 
5