Opposition lawmakers from the once-ruling Liberal Party have challenged before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of nearly P450 billion in unprogrammed funds embedded in the 2024 General Appropriations Act.

This, as Albay Representative Edcel Lagman, Camarines Sur Representative Gabriel Bordado and Basilan Representative Mujiv Hataman filed a petition last Monday asking the SC to nullify the excess P449,540,510,000 allocation in the unprogrammed appropriations, calling it “unconstitutional.”

The petitioners questioned the legality of the P449.5 billion in unprogrammed funds, which arose from the handiwork of the congressional bicameral conference committee, notwithstanding that the executive set a ceiling of only P289.1 billion in the 2024 National Expenditure Program.

They added that the P449.5 billion of the Bicam panel on top of the recommended P289.1 billion, brought the total of unprogrammed funds to P731.4 billion in the General Appropriations Act signed into law by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., which now takes effect.

In their appeal, the lawmakers pointed out that the bicam’s decision to augment the unprogrammed funds breached Section 25 (1) of Article VI of the 1987 Constitution, which prohibits Congress from “increasing the appropriations recommended by the President for the operation of the government as specified in the budget.”

“The excess P449.5-billion unprogrammed appropriations over the recommended P281.9 billion “is an unconstitutional act of Congress which is tainted with grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of congressional jurisdiction, and perforce must be nullified,” the petitioners said.

“Verily, since the Constitution does not distinguish between the programmed appropriations and the unprogrammed appropriations with respect to the congressional ban, the ceiling of both cannot be exceeded by the Congress,” they added.

The three lawmakers said the unprogrammed funds “have become the sanctuary of partisan and pet projects where funding and releases for implementation would even antedate programmed appropriations.”

They also asked the SC to issue a Temporary Restraining Order or a Writ of Preliminary Injunction, restraining the respondents from funding, releasing, and implementing the “constitutionality infirm” excess appropriations.

In addition, they asked the High Court to permanently prohibit respondents and functionaries acting on their behalf from using the excess funds, consisting of P449.5 billion.