Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO. 1100

Introduced by HONORABLE EDCEL C. LAGMAN

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This bill seeks to institutionalize the prohibition against impoundment of
appropriations by the Executive and to redeem for the Congress the plenary power of
the purse,

The prohibition, which was a bi-partisan initiative endorsed by 138 Members of
the House of Representatives and concurred in by the Senate in the 14" Congress, has
been included in the FY 2010 General Appropriations Act as Sec. 67 of the General
Provisions thereof. This section was not directly vetoed by the then President but was
only subject to “conditional implementation”.

The anti-impoundment provision is valid, proper and long overdue for the
following reasons:

1, This is clearly constitutional as it seeks to fully recognize the Congressional
authority over the purse. What Congress appropriates must not be derogated by the
Executive's unrestricted authority to impound budgetary allocations, This bill makes the
General Appropriations Act (GAA), an enactment of Congress and approved by the
President, superior over the National Expenditure Program (NEP), which is only a
budgetary proposal of the President subject to modification and disposition by
Congress,

2. This is not arbitrary because if the President's inability to release funds is
Justified pursuant to her notification to Congress, the legislative department will not
unreasonably withhold its concurrence. This is unlike the present practice of
impoundment which is subject to the sole discretion of the Executive, and most often
furtive,

3. This is not intended for the benefit of individual Members of Congress but this
provision would enhance the stature of the Congress as a co-equal branch of
government and would assure the release of budgetary allocations not otherwise
directly vetoed by the President.

4. This is not to protect congressional allocations or the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF) which is a small portion of the national budget, and has been
declared constitutional by the Supreme Court in Philconsa vs. Enriquez (235 SCRA 506),
even as it is a development agenda and a poverty alleviation policy.

5. This is not without precedent because since 2003 there has been a general
Provision on anti-impoundment but this has been rendered useless because it was


subject to the issuance of implementing rules by the Department of Budget and
Management which never issued the rules.

6. This is patterned after the U.S. Budget Control Act which was adopted at the
time President Richard Nixon started to impound congressional allocations.

Accordingly, approval of this measure is earnestly sought.

EDCEL C. LAGMAN


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Quezon City

FIFTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

HOUSE BILL NO.

Introduced by HONORABLE EDCEL C. LAGMAN

AN ACT
PROHIBITING IMPOUNDMENT OF APPROPRIATIONS, AMENDING FOR
THE PURPOSE CHAPTER 5 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 292 INSTITUTING THE
“ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF 1987’

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines
In Congress assembled:

SECTION 1. Chapter 5 of Executive Order No. 292 is hereby amended by
providing a new section numbered 33 to read as follows:

“SEC. 32. Use of Appropriated Funds, - mR XL ix

SEC. 33. PROHIBITION AGAINST IMPOUNDMENT OF
APPROPRIATIONS.- THE PRESIDENT SHALL RELEASE ALL BUDGETARY
ALLOCATIONS PROVIDED FOR IN THE GENERAL APPROPRIATIONS ACT, EXCEPT IN
THE FOLLOWING CIRCUMSTANCES: A) WHEN THE PRESIDENT SUBMITS A PROPOSAL.
TO CONGRESS TO IMPOUND OR PERMANENTLY WITHHOLD THE RELEASE OF A
PARTICULAR APPROPRIATION ITEM AND CONGRESS DOES NOT ACT ON THE
PROPOSAL WITHIN FORTY-FIVE (45) CALENDAR DAYS FROM ITS SUBMISSION TO
THE SENATE PRESIDENT AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
UNLESS DURING THE SAID PERIOD THE CONGRESS BY A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
DENIES OR REJECTS THE PROPOSAL BY A VOTE OF A SIMPLE MAJORITY OF THE
QUORUM: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT THE TIME COVERED BY THE PERIODIC
ADJOURNMENTS OF CONGRESS SHALL NOT BE RECKONED IN THE COMPUTATION OF
THE 45-DAY PERIOD; AND B) WHEN THE PRESIDENT TEMPORARILY DEFERS THE
RELEASE OF A PARTICULAR APPROPRIATION ITEM UPON PRIOR WRITTEN NOTICE TO
CONGRESS, THROUGH THE SENATE PRESIDENT AND THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE
OF REPRESENTATIVES, WHICH DEFERMENT SHALL SUBSIST UNLESS CONGRESS
STOPS OR REJECTS THE DEFERMENT IN A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY A
SIMPLE MAJORITY OF THE QUORUM.

SEC. [33.] 34. Allotment of Appropriations.- x x x
SEC. 2. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

Approved,