SC ruling vindicates late Albay lawmaker’s budget fight

LEGAZPI CITY — The Supreme Court’s ruling against unprogrammed appropriations in previous national budgets has vindicated the late Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman’s challenge to the controversial budget mechanism.

In a statement on Thursday, Albay Rep. Krisel Lagman, Edcel’s daughter, welcomed the high court’s Oct. 7 decision, which ruled unconstitutional Congress’ P449.5-billion increase in unprogrammed appropriations in the 2024 national budget and a P17.99-billion increase in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Special Road Fund in the 2025 budget.

Her late father’s petition had questioned the increase in unprogrammed appropriations from P281.9 billion in the President’s proposed National Expenditure Program to P731.4 billion in the enacted 2024 budget. Programmed appropriations for 2024 totalled P4.0198 trillion.

READ: SC: ‘Bloated’ unprogrammed funds in nat’l budget ‘unconstitutional’

The court ruled that unprogrammed appropriations are not unconstitutional but must have safeguards to ensure fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability. It required removing lump-sum allocations, clear spending priorities, and consistency with the national fiscal program.

The SC also struck down provisions in the 2026 national budget that allowed the release of unprogrammed funds based on new or excess revenues without requiring the government to exceed its overall revenue targets. It permanently barred their implementation.

The court also faulted the bicameral conference committee for failing to provide adequate records and explanations for changes to the 2024 budget, stressing that its authority is limited to reconciling disagreements between the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The younger Lagman, who voted against the proposed 2026 national budget, said she remained concerned about the continued use of unprogrammed appropriations despite reforms.

“I would personally opt for the scrapping of the unprogrammed appropriations altogether,” she said, adding that a supplemental budget could provide a more balanced way to address unforeseen contingencies.

She warned that excessively large unprogrammed appropriations could become a refuge for partisan interests and projects favored by some lawmakers.

READ: SC: Congress can’t bloat president’s budget

Krisel also thanked her brother, former Albay governor Edcel “Grex” Lagman, and lawyer Elmar Barreda for defending the petition and supporting their father’s advocacy for the Constitution and the rule of law./coa