FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
) 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
Second Regular Session 
) 
S E N A T E  
' S .  B. No. 2 6 8 3  
INTRODUCED BY THE HONORABLE M A R  ROXAS 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
The Constitutional right of citizens to information on matters of public concern cannot be 
overemphasized, especially if the information involves the use of their taxes. 
The people's trust and confidence in the government greatly depends on the transparency of 
the state in its affairs, including Congress and its members, a matter which necessarily entails full 
public disclosure of official information. The need for transparency becomes even more relevant 
when it comes to matters relating to the national budget and public expenditure, from the time that 
the executive department proposes the national budget, P1.415 Trillion as proposed in 2009, through 
the national expenditure program until congress deliberates, amends and approves the same. 
The recent controversy in the Senate involving a legislator's double entry or appropriation of 
Two Hundred Million Pesos (P200,000,000.00) per entry for one and the same road project brings to 
fore the necessity for transparency in making congressional amendments or insertions in either the 
national expenditure program as originally proposed by the executive department or the general 
appropriations bill as passed by the House of Representatives. 
Congress has the so-called "power of the purse," but the exercise of this power should always 
be for the benefit of the people, not of the few who wield power. This bill, therefore, seeks to adopt 
and implement a policy of full public disclosure on all congressional insertions that eventually form 
part and parcel of the enacted general appropriations act. Specifically, this bill mandates that an 
insertion or insertions in the general appropriations bill, whether or not included in the enacted 
general appropriations act, introduced by a member of congress, be published in a newspaper of 
national circulation and that the same be posted in the websites of both the Senate and House of 
Representatives. 
Additionally, this bill also prohibits the following acts: 
(1) Self-serving 
appropriations or conflict-of-interest appropriations, which are those that directly or indirectly 
benefit the legislator's personal or private interest or properties; and (2) Double or multiple 
appropriations, which are two or more entries in the approved general appropriations act which refer 
to one and the same item of expenditure, program, project andor purpose. Violation of any of the 
prohibited acts will create a prima facie basis for violations of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices 
Act and Plunder Law, as the case may be, against the legislator concerned. 
In view of the foregoing, approval of this bill is urgently sought. 


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FOURTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE 
1 
REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
Second Regular Session 
) 
S .  B.No. 
2 
INTRODUCED BY THE HONORABLE MAR ROXAS 
AN ACT 
ENSURING TRANSPARENCY IN THE ENACTMENT OF THE GENERAL 
APPROPRIATIONS ACT BY MANDATING THE FULL DISCLOSURE OF 
THE NATURE, PURPOSE AND AMOUNTS OF CONGRESSIONAL 
INSERTIONS AND THE COMPLETE IDENTIFICATION OF ALL PROJECTS 
APPROPRIATIONS 
AND 
APPROPRIATIONS 
OF 
THE 
SAME 
EXPENDITURE BY DOUBLE OR MULTIPLE ENTRIES IN THE GENERAL 
APPROPRIATIONS ACT AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 
EMBRACED THEREIN, AND PROHIBITING THE ACTS OF SELF-SERVING 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in 
Congress assem bled: 
SECTION 1. Short Etle. - This Act shall be known as the “Congressional Insertions 
Transparency Act of 2008. ” 
SEC. 2. Declaration of Policy - The State adopts and implements a policy of full 
disclosure of all its transactions involving public interests and recognizes the right of the people 
to information on matters of public concern. 
SEC. 3. Scope and Applicaation. - This Act shall apply to all congressional insertions 
introduced during the deliberations for the budget appropriations, either by individual 
amendment or by committee amendment. 
“Congressional insertions” shall refer to all amendments to the national expenditure 
program or general appropriations bill, as the case may be, which a member or committee of 
either house of congress shall propose or introduce during the deliberations on the same in 
either the House of Representatives or the Senate or before the Bicameral Conference 


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Committee, and, which is not part of the said national expenditure program as originally 
proposed by the executive department. 
SEC. 4. Mandatory Disclosure and Publication. - Each member of Congress and/or any 
of its respective Committees who seeks LO introduce a congressional insertiods in the general 
appropriations of the national government for any fiscal year shall allow the full disclosure of 
his or her congressional insertions through the appropriate office which, respectively, are the 
Senate Committee on Finance and the House of Representatives Appropriations Committee, 
in writing, upon written request of any party during office hours. The written disclosure 
shall clearly state the name of the concerned legislator, nature, purpose and amount of such 
appropriation/s and identify all the projects embraced therein. 
' 
Within twenty (20) days from the approval into law of the concerned General 
Appropriations Act, a report summarizing all congressional insertions of every legislator that 
were included in the said General Appropriations Act shall be published in two newspapers 
of national circulation and shall be posted in the websites of the Senate and the House of 
Representatives by the Senate Committee on Finance and the House of Representative 
Committee on Appropriations. All proposed congressional insertions of every legislator that 
were not approved shall also be included in the same report. 
Any congressional insertion that has been approved but has not been properly 
disclosed as provided in the immediately preceding paragraph shall be deemed void unless 
jointly and duly certified as legitimate by the Senate Committee on Finance and House of 
Representatives Appropriations Committee; Provided, however, that the said joint 
certification must be issued within thirty (30) days from the publication and website posting 
requirements as stated herein. Such void congressional insertion shall not in anyway affect 
the validity of the other provisions of the budget appropriations. 
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SEC. 5. 
Prohibition Against Self-serving Appropriations or Appropriations in 
Conflicts-of-Interest. - Any congressional insertion proposed by any legislator that will 
benefit the legislator’s personal or private interest or properties, directly or indirectly, and 
included in the approved general approprialions act shall be considered as a self-serving 
appropriation or an appropriation in conflict-of-interest, Such a congressional insertion shall 
be deemed as void and without possibility of cure or ratification; Provided, however, that 
this shall be without prejudice to any criminal and/or administrative charges that may be 
filed against the said member of Congress particularly as imposed by the Anti-Graft and 
Corrupt Practices Act. 
In the event that the congressional insertion shall involve an amount exceeding Fifty 
Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00), a prima facie basis for the charge of plunder as defined under 
the Anti-Plunder Law shall be applicable and the Ombudsman shall immediately institute 
the necessary charges. 
Sec. 6. prohibition Against Double or Multiple Entries. - Any congressional insertion 
that proposes and results to double or multiple entries in the general appropriations act shall 
be void, notwithstanding that such double or multiple entries may have been made by mere 
inadvertence. Any double or multiple entries discovered shall be without prejudice to the 
filing of the appropriate criminal and/or administrative charges against the legislator who 
proposed such double or multiple entries in the general appropriations act. 
In the event that the congressional insertion by double or multiple entries shall 
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involve an amount exceeding Fifty Million Pesos (P50,000,000.00), a prima facie basis for the 
charge of plunder as defined under the Anti-Plunder Law shall be applicable and the 
Ombudsman shall immediately prepare the necessary charges. 
“Double or multiple entries” shall refer to two or more entries in the approved 
general appropriations act which refer to one and the same item of expenditure, program, 
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project and/or purpose, notwithstanding the variance in the name or description of the item, 
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for as long as the amount relates to the same item expenditure, program, project and/or 
purpose. 
SEC. 7 .  Separability Clause. - If, for any reason, any part or provision of this Act is 
declared invalid, such declaration shall not affect the other provisions of this Act. 
SEC. 8. Repealing Clause. - All laws, decrees, executive orders, issuances, rules or 
regulations or parts thereof, which are inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, are 
hereby deemed repealed, amended or modified accordingly. 
SEC. 9. Effecri~v. 
- This Act shall take effect immediately after its publication in two 
(2) national newspapers of general circulation. 
Approved, 
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