Savings bill’s fate hangs in House

MANILA, Philippines - The fate of a Malacañang-drafted bill seeking to redefine savings in government remains uncertain as leaders of the House of Representatives see it as clipping the powers of Congress.

Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said he has directed his legal team to look into the request of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad for the House to immediately approve the bill.

It aims to redefine the impounding or realignment of savings by the executive branch, similar to the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional.

The DAP pooled “savings” from various government agencies from 2011 to 2013 and diverted them to projects not previously approved by Congress.

Critics said some urgent projects were deliberately discontinued to create “savings” in the middle of the fiscal year.

Davao City Rep. Isidro Ungab, committee on appropriations chairman, said he has yet to study the bill.

The committee, which has started deliberations on the proposed P2.606-trillion national budget, will play a key role in the deliberations of the “savings” bill.

Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said copies of the bill have been given to the leaders of various parties belonging to the majority coalition to seek their opinion.

“We will see if this (redefining savings) will be allowed or not because for lawyers, when you talk about a law, it is always prospective,” he said. “I’m not sure if one can apply the law retroactively.”

However, no lawmaker so far has expressed willingness to sponsor the bill, he added.

Gonzales was referring to Section 7 of the bill, which allows “retroactive and curative applications of the rules on savings” that will have implications on the SC’s DAP ruling, which remains on appeal by Malacañang.

“To dispel any doubt as to this legislative intent, the provisions in this Act shall be retroactive and curative in nature,” read Section 7.

“Accordingly, all previous acts relating to the definition of savings, the rules on augmentation and other related concepts, as well as the use and release of the Unprogrammed Funds made, applied, consummated, executed, undertaken and implemented prior to the passage of this Act are hereby confirmed, ratified and validated.”

A senior pro-administration lawmaker, who also chairs a key House committee, said Abad’s bill is not likely to pass.