MANILA, Philippines – NAGPATAW ng mas mahigpit na kondisyon si Pangulong Ferdinand Marcos Jr. sa pagpapalabas ng pondo sa ilalim ng P6.793-trillion national budget ngayong taon, partikular na sa mga bagong programa at budgetary adjustments na binanggit sa congressional deliberations.
Sa isang kalatas ng Department of Budget and Management (DBM), tinukoy ng departamento ang veto message ng Pangulo sa Fiscal Year 2026 General Appropriations Act (GAA), sinabing walang budget ang ipalalabas ‘automatically’ o sa labas na hindi na saklaw ng batas at fiscal discipline.
Sinabi ng DBM na nilinaw ng Pangulo na “all increases in appropriations and new budgetary items approved by Congress are subject to conditional implementation.”
Partikular na rito, ipinag-utos ng Pangulo na ang pondo para sa adjustments at mga bagong items na inaprubahan ng Kongreso sa GAA ay ipalalabas depende sa “cash programming ng national government, pagtalima sa masinop na fiscal management, pagsunod sa budget execution rules and procedures, at pag-apruba ng Pangulo base sa programmed priorities ng gobyerno.”
Tinuran pa ng DBM na ang policy direction ay nagpatibay sa constitutional principle na habang ang Kongreso ay pinahintulutan ang budget, tanggap naman ng executive branch ang responsibilidad na tiyakin na ito’y ‘lawful, disciplined, at accountable execution’ partikular na ang pangasiwaan ang adjustments na maaaring makaapekto sa fiscal sustainability at national priorities.
“I stand firm in my constitutional duty to ensure the faithful execution of laws. Therefore, I hereby condition the implementation of certain provisions in this Act to conform to existing laws, policies, rules, and regulations,” ang sinabi ni Pangulong Marcos.
Ayon sa DBM, naglagay ang Pangulo ng ilang special provisions sa ilalim ng conditional implementation, gaya ng mga probisyon na Quick Response Fund (QRF), Engineering and Administrative Overhead Expenses, Payment of Retirement Benefits and Pensions, Capacity Development Programs, at Foreign Service Posts.
Winika ng departamento na “funds for these items will only be released once all legal, procedural, and fiscal requirements are fully satisfied.”
“The President emphasized that budget passage is only the beginning, noting that the greater challenge lies in execution and accountability,” sinabi pa rin ng DBM.
Idinagdag pa ng DBM na inatasan din ni Pangulong Marcos ang ahensiya na masusing pangasiwaan ang epekto ng congressional adjustments sa agency performance.
“Agencies affected by new items or increased appropriations will be formally notified of changes in their budgets and required to submit revised performance targets, ensuring that funding increases are matched by measurable outputs and concrete results,” ang tinuran ng DBM. Kris Jose
