EN BANC

[G.R. No. 113105. August 19, 1994.]

PHILIPPINE CONSTITUTION ASSOCIATION, EXEQUIEL B. GARCIA

and RAMON A. GONZALES , petitioners, vs. HON. SALVADOR
ENRIQUEZ, as Secretary of Budget and Management; HON. VICENTE
T. TAN, as National Treasurer and COMMISSION ON AUDIT ,
respondents.

[G.R. No. 113174. August 19, 1994.]

RAUL S. ROCO, as Member of the Philippine Senate, NEPTALI A.

GONZALES, as Chairman of the Committee on Finance of the
Philippine Senate, and EDGARDO J. ANGARA, as President and Chief
Executive of the Philippine Senate, all of whom also sue as
taxpayers, in their own behalf and in representation of Senators
HEHERSON ALVAREZ, AGAPITO A. AQUINO, RODOLFO G. BIAZON,
JOSE D. LINA, JR., ERNESTO F. HERRERA, BLAS F. OPLE, JOHN H.
OSMEÑA, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, VICENTE SOTTO III,
ARTURO M. TOLENTINO, FRANCISCO S. TATAD, WIGBERTO E.
TAÑADA and FREDDIE WEBB, petitioners, vs. THE EXECUTIVE
SECRETARY, THE DEPARTMENT OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT,
and THE NATIONAL TREASURER, THE COMMISSION ON AUDIT,
impleaded herein as an unwilling co-petitioner, respondents.

[G.R. No. 113766. August 19, 1994.]

WIGBERTO E. TAÑADA and ALBERTO G. ROMULO, as Members of

the Philippine Senate and as taxpayers, and FREEDOM FROM DEBT
COALITION, petitioners, vs. HON. TEOFISTO GUINGONA, JR. in his
capacity as Executive Secretary, HON. SALVADOR ENRIQUEZ, JR., in
his capacity as as Secretary of the Department of Budget and
Management, HON. CARIDAD BALDEHUESA, in her capacity as
National Treasurer, and THE COMMISSION ON AUDIT, respondents.

[G.R. No. 113888. August 19, 1994.]

WIGBERTO E. TAÑADA and ALBERTO G. ROMULO, as Members of

the Philippine Senate and as taxpayers, petitioners, v s . HON.
TEOFISTO T. GUINGONA, JR., in his capacity as Executive Secretary,
HON. SALVADOR ENRIQUEZ, JR., in his capacity as Secretary of the
Department of Budget and Management, HON. CARIDAD
BALDEHUESA, in her capacity as National Treasurer, and THE
COMMISSION ON AUDIT, respondents.

Ramon R. Gonzales for petitioners in G.R. No. 112105.

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 Eddie Tamondong for petitioners in G.R. Nos 113766 & 113888.
Roco, Buñag, Kapunan, Migallos & Jardeleza for petitioners Raul S. Roco, Neptali
A. Gonzales and Edgardo Angara.
Ceferino Padua Law O ce for intervenor Lawyers against Monopy and Poverty
(LAMP).

DECISION

QUIASON , J : p

Once again this Court is called upon the rule on the con icting claims of authority
between the Legislative and the Executive in the clash of the powers of the purse and
the sword. Providing the focus for the contest between the President and the Congress
over control of the national budget are the four cases at bench. Judicial intervention is
being sought by a group of concerned taxpayers on the claim that Congress and the
President have impermissibly exceed their respective authorities, and by several
Senators on the claim that the President has committed grave abuse of discretion or
acted without jurisdiction in the exercise of his veto power. prLL

I
House Bill No. 10900, the General Appropriation Bill of 1994 (GAB of 1994), was
passed and approved by both houses of Congress on December 17, 1993. As passed, it
imposed conditions and limitations on certain items of appropriations in the proposed
budget previously submitted by the President. It also authorized members of Congress
to propose and identify projects in the "pork barrels" allotted to them and to realign their
respective operating budgets.
Pursuant to the procedure on the passage and enactment of bills as prescribed
by the Constitution, Congress presented the said bill to the President for consideration
and approval.
On December 30, 1993, the President signed the bill into law, and declared the
same to have become Republic Act No. 7663, entitled "AN ACT APPROPRIATING FUNDS
FOR THE OPERATION OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES FROM JANUARY
ONE TO DECEMBER THIRTY ONE, NINETEEN HUNDRED AND NINETY-FOUR, AND FOR
OTHER PURPOSES" (GAA of 1994). On the same day, the President delivered his
Presidential Veto Message, specifying the provisions of the bill he vetoed and on which
he imposed certain conditions. cdasia

No step was taken in either House of Congress to override the vetoes.

In G.R. No. 113105, the Philippine Constitution Association, Exequiel B. Garcia and
Ramon A. Gonzales as taxpayers, prayed for a writ of prohibition to declare as
unconstitutional and void: (a) Article XLI on the Countrywide Development Fund, the
special provision in Article I entitled Realignment of Allocation for Operational Expenses,
and Article XLVIII on the Appropriation for Debt Service or the amount appropriated
under said Article XLVIII in excess of the P37.9 Billion allocated for the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports; and (b) the veto of the President of the Special Provision
of Article XLVIII of the GAA of 1994 (Rollo, pp. 88-90, 104-105).
In G.R. No. 113174, sixteen members of the Senate led by Senate President
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 Edgardo J. Angara, Senator Neptali A. Gonzales, the Chairman of the Committee on
Finance, and Senator Raul S. Roco, sought the issuance of the writs of certiorari,
prohibition and mandamus against the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of the
Department of Budget and Management, and the National Treasurer.
Suing as members of the Senate and taxpayers, petitioners question: (1) the
constitutionality of the conditions imposed by the President in the items of the GAA of
1994: (a) for the Supreme Court, (b) Commission on Audit (COA), (c) Ombudsman, (d)
Commission on Human Rights, (CHR), (e) Citizen Armed Forces Geographical Units
(CAFGU'S) and (f) State Universities and Colleges (SUC's); and (2) the constitutionality
of the veto of the special provision in the appropriation for debt service.
In G.R. No. 113766, Senators Alberto G. Romulo and Wigberto Tañada (a co-
petitioner in G.R. No. 113174), together with the Freedom from Debt Coalition, a non-
stock domestic corporation, sought the issuance of the writs of prohibition and
mandamus against the Executive Secretary, the Secretary of the Department of Budget
and Management, the National Treasurer, and the COA. cdll

Petitioners Tañada and Romulo sued as members of the Philippine Senate and
taxpayers, while petitioner Freedom from Debt Coalition sued as a taxpayer. They
challenge the constitutionality of the Presidential veto of the special provision in the
appropriations for debt service and the automatic appropriation of funds therefor.
In G.R. No. 113888, Senators Tañada and Romulo sought the issuance of the writs
of prohibition and mandamus against the same respondents in G.R. No. 113766. In this
petition, petitioners contest the constitutionality of: (1) the veto on four special
provisions added to items in the GAA of 1994 for the Armed Forces of the Philippines
(AFP) and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH); and (2) the
conditions imposed by the President in the implementation of certain appropriations for
the CAFGU's, the DPWH, and the National Housing Authority (NHA).
Petitioners also sought the issuance of temporary restraining orders to enjoin
respondents Secretary of Budget and Management, National Treasurer and COA from
enforcing the questioned provisions of the GAA of 1994, but the Court declined to grant
said provisional reliefs on the time-honored principle of according the presumption of
validity to statutes and the presumption of regularity to official acts.LLpr

In view of the importance and novelty of most of the issues raised in the four
petitions, the Court invited former Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando and former
Associate Justice Irene Cortes to submit their respective memoranda as Amicus Curiae,
which they graciously did.
II
Locus Standi
When issues of constitutionality are raised, the Court can exercise its power of
judicial review only if the following requisites are compresent: (1) the existence of an
actual and appropriate case; (2) a personal and substantial interest of the party raising
the constitutional question; (3) the exercise of judicial review is pleaded at the earliest
opportunity; and (4) the constitutional question is the lis mota of the case (Luz Farms v.
Secretary of the Department of Agrarian Reform, 192 SCRA 51 [1990]; Dumlao v.
Commission on Elections, 95 SCRA 392 [1980]; People v. Vera, 65 Phil. 56 [1937]).
While the Solicitor General did not question the locus standi of petitioners in G.R.
No. 113105, he claimed that the remedy of the Senators in the other petitions is political
(i.e., to override the vetoes) in effect saying that they do not have the requisite legal
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 standing to bring the suits.
The legal standing of the Senate, as an institution, was recognized in Gonzales v.
Macaraig, Jr., 191 SCRA 452 (1990). In said case, 23 Senators, comprising the entire
membership of the Upper House of Congress, led a petition to nullify the presidential
veto of Section 55 of the GAA of 1989. The ling of the suit was authorized by Senate
Resolution No. 381, adopted on February 2, 1989, and which reads as follows: cdll

"Authorizing and Directing the Committee on Finance to Bring in the Name

of the Senate of the Philippines the Proper Suit with the Supreme Court of the
Philippines contesting the Constitutionality of the Veto by the President of Special
and General Provisions, particularly Section 55, of the General Appropriation Bill of
1989 (H.B. No. 19186) and For Other Purposes.

In the United States, the legal standing of a House of Congress to sue has been
recognized (United States v. American Tel. & Tel. Co., 551 F. 2d 384, 391 [1976]; Notes:
Congressional Access To The Federal Courts, 90 Harvard Law Review 1632 [1977]).
While the petition in G.R. No. 113174 was led by 16 Senators, including the
Senate President and the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, the suit was not
authorized by the Senate itself. Likewise, the petitions in G.R. Nos. 113766 and 113888
were filed without an enabling resolution for the purpose.
Therefore, the question of the legal standing of petitioners in the three cases
becomes a preliminary issues before this Court can inquire into the validity of the
presidential veto and the conditions for the implementation of some items in the GAA of
1994. LibLex

We rule that a member of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives for that
matter, has the legal standing to question the validity of a presidential veto or a
condition imposed on an item in an appropriation bill.
Where the veto is claimed to have been made without or in excess of the authority
vested on the President by the Constitution, the issue of an impermissible intrusion of
the Executive into the domain of the Legislature arises (Notes: Congressional Standing
To Challenge Executive Action, 122 University of Pennsylvania Law Review 1366 [1974]).
LLjur

To the extent the powers of Congress are impaired, so is the power of each
member thereof, since his o ce confers a right to participate in the exercise of the
powers of that institution (Coleman v. Miller, 307 U.S. 433 [1939]; Holtzman v.
Schlesinger, 484 F. 2d 1307 [1973]).
An act of the Executive which injures the institution of Congress causes a
derivative but nonetheless substantial injury, which can be questioned by a member of
Congress (Kennedy v. Jones, 412 F. Supp. 353 [1976]). In such a case, any member of
Congress can have a resort to the courts.
Former Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando, as Amicus Curiae, noted;
"This is, then, the clearest case of the Senate as a whole or individual
Senators as such having substantial interest in the question at issue. It could
likewise be said that there was requisite injury to their rights as Senators. It would
then be futile to raise any locus standi issue. Any intrusion into the domain
appertaining to the Senate is to be resisted. Similarly, if the situation were
reversed, and it is the Executive Branch that could allege a transgression, its
o cials could likewise le the corresponding action. What cannot be denied is
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 that a Senator has standing to maintain inviolate the prerogatives, powers and
privileges vested by the Constitution in his office" (Memorandum, p. 14).

It is true that the Constitution provides a mechanism for overriding a veto (Art. VI,
Sec. 27 [1]). Said remedy, however, is available only when the presidential veto is based
on policy or political considerations but not when the veto is claimed to be ultra vires. In
the latter case, it becomes the duty of the Court to draw the dividing line where the
exercise of executive power ends and the bounds of legislative jurisdiction begin. LLphil

III
G.R. No. 113105
1. Countrywide Development Fund.
Article XLI of the GAA of 1994 sets up a Countrywide Development Fund of
P2,977,000,000.00 to "be used for infrastructure, purchase of ambulances and
computers and other priority projects and activities and credit facilities to quali ed
beneficiaries." Said Article provides:
"COUNTRYWIDE DEVELOPMENT FUND
For Fund requirements of countrywide development projects P2,977,000,000
New Appropriations, by
Purpose
Current Operating Expenditures
A. PURPOSE
Personal Maintenance

Services and Other

Operating Capital

Expenses Outlays Total

1. For
Countrywide
Development
Projects P250,000,000 P2,727,000.000 P2,977,000,000
—————— —————— ——————
TOTAL NEW

APPROPRIATIONS P250,000,000 P2,727,000,000 P,977,000,000

—————— —————— ——————

Special Provisions

1. Use and Release of Funds. The amount herein appropriated shall be

used for infrastructure, purchase of ambulances and computers and other priority
projects and activities, and credit facilities to quali ed bene ciaries as proposed
and identi ed by o cials concerned according to the following allocations:
Representatives, P12,500,000 each; Senators, P18,000,000 each; Vice-President,
P20,000,000; PROVIDED, That, the said credit facilities shall be constituted as a
revolving fund to be administered by a government nancial institution (GFI) as a
trust fund for lending operations. Prior years releases to local government units
and national government agencies for this purpose shall be turned over to the
government nancial institution which shall be the sole administrator of credit
facilities released from this fund. cdasia

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 The fund shall be automatically released quarterly by way of Advice of
Allotments and Notice of Cash Allocation directly to the assigned implementing
agency not later than ve (5) days after the beginning of each quarter upon
submission of the list of projects and activities by the officials concerned.

2. Submission of Quarterly Reports. The Department of Budget and

Management shall submit within thirty (30) days after the end of each quarter a
report to the Senate Committee on Finance and the House Committee on
Appropriations on the releases made from this Fund. The report shall includes the
listing of the projects, locations, implementing agencies and the endorsing
officials" (GAA of 1994, p. 1245).

Petitioners claim that the power given to the members of Congress to propose
and identify the projects and activities to be funded by the Countrywide Development
Fund is an encroachment by the legislature on executive power, since said power in an
appropriation act is in implementation of a law. They argue that the proposal and
identi cation of the projects do not involve the making of laws or the repeal and
amendment thereof, the only function given to the Congress by the Constitution (Rollo,
pp. 78-86). cdrep

Under the Constitution, the spending power called by James Madison as "the
power of the purse," belongs to Congress, subject only to the veto power of the
President. The President may propose the budget, but still the nal say on the matter of
appropriations is lodged in the Congress.
The power of appropriation carries with it the power to specify the project or
activity to be funded under the appropriation law. It can be as detailed and as broad as
Congress wants it to be.
The Countrywide Development Fund is explicit that it shall be used "for
infrastructure, purchase of ambulances and computers and other priority projects and
activities and credit facilities to quali ed bene ciaries. . . ." It was Congress itself that
determined the purposes for the appropriation. llcd

Executive function under the Countrywide Development Fund involves

implementation of the priority projects specified in the law.
The authority given to the members of Congress is only to propose and identify
projects to be implemented by the President. Under Article XLI of the GAA of 1994, the
President must perforce examine whether the proposals submitted by the members of
Congress fall within the speci c items of expenditures for which the Fund was set up,
and if quali ed, he next determines whether they are in line with other projects planned
for the locality. Thereafter, if the proposed projects qualify for funding under the Fund, it
is the President who shall implement them. In short, the proposals and identi cations
made by the members of Congress are merely recommendatory.
The procedure of proposing and identifying by members of Congress of
particular projects or activities under Article XLI of the GAA of 1994 is imaginative as it
is innovative.
The Constitution is a framework of a workable government and its interpretation
must take into account the complexities, realities and politics attendant to the operation
of the political branches of government. Prior to the GAA of 1991, there was an uneven
allocation of appropriations for the constituents of the members of Congress, with the
members close to the Congressional leadership or who hold cards for "horse-trading,"
getting more than their less favored colleagues. The members of Congress also had to
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 reckon with an unsympathetic President, who could exercise his veto power to cancel
from the appropriation bill a pet project of a Representative or Senator.
The Countrywide Development Fund attempts to make equal the unequal. It is
also a recognition that individual members of Congress, far more than the President and
their congressional colleagues are likely to be knowledgeable about the needs of their
respective constituents and the priority to be given each project. LibLex

2. Realignment of Operating Expenses

Under the GAA of 1994, the appropriation for the Senate is P472,000,000.00 of
which P464,447,000.00 is appropriated for current operating expenditures, while the
appropriation for the House of Representatives is P1,171,924,000.00 of which
P1,165,297,000.00 is appropriated for current operating expenditures (GAA of 1994,
pp. 2, 4, 9, 12).
The 1994 operating expenditures for the Senate are as follows:
"Personal Services

Salaries, Permanent 153,347

Salaries/Wages, Contractual/Emergency 6,870
———
Total Salaries and Wages 160,217
———
Other Compensation Step Increments 1,073
Honoraria and Commutable Allowances 3,731
Compensation Insurance Premiums 1,579
Pag-I.B.I.G. Contributions 1,184
Medicare Premiums 888
Bonus and Cash Gift 14,791
Terminal Leave Benefits 2,000
Personnel Economic Relief Allowance 10,266
Additional Compensation of P500 under A.O. 53 11,130
Others 57,173
———
Total Other Compensation 103,815
———
01 Total Personal Services 264,032
———

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses

02 Travelling Expenses 32,841
03 Communication Services 7,666
04 Repair and Maintenance of Government 1,220
Facilities
05 Repair and Maintenance of Government 318
Vehicles
06 Transportation Services 128
07 Supplies and Materials 20,189
08 Rents 24,584
14 Water/Illumination and Power 6,561
15 Social Security Benefits and Other Claims 3,270
17 Training and Seminars Expenses 2,225
18 Extraordinary and Miscellaneous Expenses 9,360
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 23 Advertising and Publication
24 Fidelity Bonds and Insurance Premiums 1,325
29 Other Services 89,778
———
Total Maintenance and Other Operating 200,415
Expenditures
———
Total Current Operating Expenditures 464,447
———

(GAA OF 1994, pp. 3-4)

The 1994 operating expenditures for the House of Representatives are as

follows:
Personal Services Salaries, Permanent 261,557
Salaries/Wages, Contractual/Emergency 143,643
———
Total Salaries and Wages 405, 200
———
Other Compensation

Step Increments 4,312

Honoraria and Commutable

Allowances 4,764
Compensation Insurance

Premiums 1,159
Pag-I.B.I.G. Contributions 5,231
Medicare Premiums 2,281
Bonus and Cash Gift 35,669
Terminal Leave Benefits 29
Personnel Economic Relief

Allowance 21,510
Additional Compensation

of P500 under A.O. 53 21,768

Others 106,140
———
Total Other Compensation 202,863
01 Total Personal Services 608,063
———

Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses

02 Travelling Expenses 139,611
03 Communication Services 22,514
04 Repair and Maintenance of Government 5,116
Facilities

05 Repair and Maintenance of Government 1,863

Vehicles
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 06
07 Transportation Services
Supplies and Materials 178
55,248
10 Grants/Subsidies/Contributions 940
14 Water/Illumination and Power 14,458
15 Social Security Benefits and Other Claims 325
17 Training and Seminars Expenses 7,236
18 Extraordinary and Miscellaneous Expenses 14,474
———
20 Anti-Insurgency/Contingency Emergency 9,400
Expenses
23 Advertising and Publication Expenses 242
24 Fidelity Bonds and Insurance Premiums 1,420
29 Other Services 284,209
———
Total Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses 557,234
———
Total Current Operating Expenditures 1,165,297
———

(GAA of 1994, pp. 11-12)

The Special Provision Applicable to the Congress of the Philippines provides:
"4. Realignment of Allocation for Operating Expenses. A member of
Congress may realign his allocation for operational expenses to any other expense
category provided the total of said allocation is not exceeded." (GAA of 1994, p.
14).

The appropriation for operating expenditures for each House is further divided
into expenditures for salaries, personal services, other compensation bene ts,
maintenance expenses and other operating expenses. In turn, each member of
Congress is allotted for his own operating expenditure a proportionate share of the
appropriation for the House to which he belongs. If he does not spend for one item of
expense, the provision in question allows him to transfer his allocation in said item to
another item of expense.
Petitioners assail the special provision allowing a member of Congress to realign
his allocation for operational expenses to any other expense category (Rollo, pp. 82-92),
claiming that this practice is prohibited by Section 25(5) Article VI of the Constitution.
Said section provides: Cdpr

"No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations:

however, the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of
Constitutional Commissions may, by law, be authorized to augment any item in
the general appropriations law for their respective o ces from savings in other
items of their respective appropriations."

The proviso of said Article of the Constitution grants the President of the Senate
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives the power to augment items in an
appropriation act for their respective o ces from savings in other items of their
appropriations, whenever there is a law authorizing such augmentation.
The special provision on realignment of the operating expenses of members of
Congress is authorized by Section 16 of the General Provisions of the GAA of 1994,
which provides:
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 "Expenditure Components. Except by act of the Congress of the Philippines,
no change or modi cation shall be made in the expenditure items authorized in
this Act and other appropriation laws unless in cases of augmentations from
savings in appropriations as authorized under Section 25(5) of Article VI of the
Constitution." (GAA of 1994, p. 1273).

Petitioners argue that the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, but not the individual members of Congress are the ones authorized to
realign the savings as appropriated.
Under the Special Provisions applicable to the Congress of the Philippines, the
members of Congress only determine the necessity of the realignment of the savings in
the allotments for their operating expenses. They are in the best position to do so
because they are the ones who know whether there are de ciencies in other items of
their operating expenses that need augmentation. However, it is the Senate President
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, as the case may be, who shall approve
the realignment. Before giving their stamp of approval, these two o cials will have to
see to it that: LibLex

(1) The funds to be realigned or transferred are actually savings in the items
of expenditures from which the same are to be taken; and
(2) The transfer or realignment is for the purpose of augmenting the items of
expenditure to which said transfer or realignment is to be made.
3. Highest Priority for Debt Service
While Congress appropriated P86,323,428,000.00 for debt service (Article XLVII
of the GAA of 1994), it appropriated only P37,780,450,000.00 for the Department of
Education, Culture and Sports. Petitioners urged that Congress cannot give debt service
the highest priority in the GAA of 1994 (Rollo, pp. 93-94) because under the Constitution
it should be education that is entitled to the highest funding. They invoke Section 5(5),
Article XIV thereof, which provides:
"(5) The State shall assign the highest budgetary priority to education
and ensure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best
available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job
satisfaction and fulfillment." cdtai

This issue was raised in Guingona, Jr. v. Carague, 196 SCRA 221 (1991), where
this court held that Section 5(5), Article XIV of the Constitution, is merely directory, thus:
"While it is true that under Section 5(5), Article XIV of the Constitution,
Congress is mandated to 'assign the highest budgetary priority to education' in
order to 'insure that teaching will attract and retain its rightful share of the best
available talents through adequate remuneration and other means of job
satisfaction and ful llment,' it does not thereby follow that the hands of Congress
are so hamstrung as to deprive it the power to respond to the imperatives of the
national interest and for the attainment of other state policies or objectives.
As aptly observed by respondents, since 1985, the budget for education has
tripled to upgrade and improve the facility of the public school system. The
compensation of teachers has been doubled. The amount of P29,740,611,000.00
set aside for the Department of Education, Culture and Sports under the General
Appropriations Act (R.A. No. 6831), is the highest budgetary allocation among all
department budgets. This is a clear compliance with the aforesaid constitutional
mandate according highest priority to education.
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 Having faithfully complied therewith, Congress is certainly not without any
power, guided only by its good judgment, to provide an appropriation, that can
reasonably service our enormous debt, the greater portion of which was inherited
from the previous administration. It is not only a matter of honor and to protect the
credit standing of the country. More especially, the very survival of our economy is
at stake. Thus, if in the process Congress appropriated an amount for debt service
bigger than the share allocated to education, the Court nds and so holds that
said appropriation cannot be thereby assailed as unconstitutional."

G.R. NO. 113105

G.R. NO. 113174
Veto of Provision on Debt Ceiling
The Congress added a Special Provision to Article XLVIII (Appropriations for Debt
Service) of the GAA of 1994 which provides:
"Special Provisions.

1. Use of the Fund. The appropriation authorized herein shall be used

for payment of principal and interest of foreign and domestic indebtedness;
PROVIDED, That any payment in excess of the amount herein appropriated shall
be subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines with the concurrence
of the congress of the Philippines; PROVIDED, FURTHER, That in no case shall this
fund be used to pay for the liabilities of the Central Bank Board of Liquidators.

2. Reporting Requirement. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and the

Department of Finance shall submit a quarterly report of actual foreign and
domestic debt service payments to the House Committee on Appropriations and
Senate Finance Committee within one (1) month after each quarter" (GAA of 1944,
pp. 1266).

The President vetoed the rst Special Provision, without vetoing the
P86,323,438,000.00 appropriation for debt service in said Article. According to the
President's Veto Message: cdrep

"IV. APPROPRIATIONS FOR DEBT SERVICE

I would like to emphasize that I concur fully with the desire of Congress to
reduce the debt burden by decreasing the appropriation for debt service as well as
the inclusion of the Special Provision quoted below. Nevertheless, I believe that
this debt reduction scheme cannot be validly done through the 1994 GAA. This
must be addressed by revising our debt policy by way of innovative and
comprehensive debt reduction programs conceptualized within the ambit of the
Medium-Term Philippine Development Plan.

Appropriations for payment of public debt, whether foreign or domestic, are

automatically appropriated pursuant to the Foreign Borrowing Act and Section 31
of P.D. No. 1177 as reiterated under Section 26, Chapter 4, Book VI of E.O. No. 292,
the Administrative Code of 1987. I wish to emphasize that the constitutionality of
such automatic provisions on debt servicing has been upheld by the Supreme
Court in the case of 'Teo sto T. Guingona, Jr. and Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. v. Hon.
Guillermo N. Carague, in his capacity as Secretary of Budget and Management, et
al.,' G.R. No. 94571, dated April 22, 1991.

I am, therefore vetoing the following special provision for the reason that
the GAA is not the appropriate legislative measure to amend the provisions of the
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 Foreign Borrowing Act, P.D. No. 1177 and E.O. No. 292:
'Use of the Fund. The appropriation authorized herein shall be used
for payment of principal and interest of foreign and domestic indebtedness:
PROVIDED, That any payment in excess of the amount herein appropriated
shall be subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines with the
concurrence of the Congress of the Philippines; PROVIDED FURTHER, That
in no case shall this fund be used to pay for the liabilities of the Central
Bank Board of Liquidators'" (GAA of 1994, p. 1290).

Petitioners claim that the President cannot veto the Special Provision on the
appropriation for debt service without vetoing the entire amount of P86,323,438.00 for
said purpose (Rollo, G.R. No. 113105, pp. 93-98; Rollo, G.R. NO. 113174, pp. 16-18). The
Solicitor General counterposed that the Special Provision did not relate to the item of
appropriation for debt service and could therefore be the subject of an item veto (Rollo,
G.R. No. 113105, pp. 54-60; Rollo, G.R. No. 113174, pp. 72-82). cdrep

This issue is a mere rehash of the one put to rest in Gonzales v. Macaraig, Jr ., 191
SCRA 452 (1990). In that case, the issue was stated by the Court, thus:
"The fundamental issue raised is whether or not the veto by the President of
Section 55 of the 1989 Appropriations Bill (Section 55 FY '89, and subsequently of
its counterpart Section 16 of the 1990 Appropriations Bill (Section 16 FY '90), is
unconstitutional and without effect."

The Court re-stated the issue, just so there would not be any misunderstanding
about it, thus:
"The focal issue for resolution is whether or not the President exceeded the
item-veto power accorded by the Constitution. Or differently put, has the President
the power to veto `provisions' of an Appropriations Bill?"

The bases of the petition in Gonzales, which are similar to those invoked in the
present case, are stated as follows:
"In essence, petitioners' cause is anchored on the following grounds: (1) the
President's line-veto power as regards appropriation bills is limited to item/s and
does not cover provision/s; therefore, she exceeded her authority when she vetoed
Section 55 (FY '89) and Section 16 (FY '90) which are provision; (2) when the
President objects to a provision of an appropriation bill, she cannot exercise the
item-veto power but should veto the entire bill; (3) the item-veto power does not
carry with it the power to strike out conditions or restrictions for that would be
legislation, in violation of the doctrine of separation of powers; and (4) the power
of augmentation in Article VI, Section 25 [5] of the 1987 Constitution, has to be
provided for by law and, therefore, Congress is also vested with the prerogative to
impose restrictions on the exercise of that power. cdlex

The restrictive interpretation urged by petitioners that the President may not
veto a provision without vetoing the entire bill not only disregards the basic
principle that a distinct and severable part of a bill may be the subject of a
separate veto but also overlooks the Constitutional mandate that any provision n
the general appropriations bill shall relate speci cally to some particular
appropriation therein and that any such provision shall be limited in its operation
to the appropriation to which it relates (1987 Constitution, Article VI, Section 25
[2]). In other words, in the true sense of the term, a provision in an Appropriations
Bill is limited in its operation to some particular appropriation to which it relates,
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 and does not relate to the entire bill."

The Court went one step further and rules that even assuming arguendo that
"provisions" are beyond the executive power to veto, and Section 55 (FY '89) and Section
16 (FY '90) were not "provisions" in the budgetary sense of the term, they are
"inappropriate provisions" that should be treated as "items" for the purpose of the
President's veto power. prcd

The Court, citing Henry v. Edwards, La., 346 So. 2d 153 (1977), said that Congress
cannot include in a general appropriations bill matters that should be more properly
enacted in separate legislation, and if it does that, the inappropriate provisions inserted
by it must be treated as "item," which can be vetoed by the President in the exercise of
his item-veto power.
It is readily apparent that the Special Provision applicable to the appropriation for
debt service insofar as it refers to funds in excess of the amount appropriated in the bill,
is an "inappropriate" provision referring to funds other than the P86,323,438,000.00
appropriated in the General Appropriations Act of 1991.
Likewise the vetoed provision is clearly an attempt to repeal Section 31 of P.D.
No. 1177 (Foreign Borrowing Act) and E.O. No. 292, and to reverse the debt payment
policy. As held by the court in Gonzales, the repeal of these laws should be done in a
separate law, not in the appropriations law.
The Court will indulge every intendment in favor of the constitutionality of a veto,
the same as it will presume the constitutionality of an act of Congress (Texas Co. v.
State, 254 P. 1060; 31 Ariz, 485, 53 A.L.R. 258 [1927]).
The veto power, while exercisable by the President, is actually a part of the
legislative process (Memorandum of Justice Irene Cortes as Amicus Curiae, pp. 3-7).
That is why it is found in Article VI on the Legislative Department rather than in Article VII
on the Executive Department in the Constitution. There is, therefore, sound basis to
indulge in the presumption of validity of a veto. The burden shifts on those questioning
the validity thereof to show that its use is a violation of the Constitution.
Under his general veto power, the President has to veto the entire bill, not merely
parts thereof (1987 Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 27[1]). The exception to the general veto
power is the power given to the President to veto any particular item or items in a
general appropriations bill (1987 Constitution, Art. VI, Sec. 27 [2]). In so doing, the
President must veto the entire item. prLL

A general appropriations bill is a special type of legislation, whose content is

limited to speci ed sums of money dedicated to a speci c purpose or a separate scal
unit (Beckman, The Item Veto Power of the Executive, 31 Temple Law Quarterly 27
[1957]).
The item veto was rst introduced by the Organic Act of the Philippines passed
by the U.S. Congress on August 29, 1916. The concept was adopted from some State
Constitutions.
Cognizant of the legislative practice of inserting provisions, including conditions,
restrictions and limitations, to items in appropriations bills, the Constitutional
Convention added the following sentence to Section 20 (2), Article VI of the 1935
Constitution:
". . . When a provision of an appropriation bill affects one or more items of
the same, the President cannot veto the provision without at the same time vetoing
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 the particular item or items to which it relates. . . ."

In short, under the 1935 Constitution, the President was empowered to veto
separately not only items in an appropriations bill but also "provisions."
While the 1987 Constitution did not retain the aforementioned sentence added to
Section 11 (2) of Article VI of the 1935 Constitution, it included the following provision:
"No provision or enactment shall be embraced in the general appropriations
bill unless it relates speci cally to some particular appropriation therein. Any such
provision or enactment shall be limited in its operation to the appropriation to
which it relates" (Art. VI, Sec. 25 [2]).

In Gonzales, we made it clear that the omission of that sentence of Section 16 (2)
of the 1935 Constitution in the 1987 Constitution should not be interpreted to mean the
disallowance of the power of the President to veto a "provision."
As the Constitution is explicit that the provision which Congress can include in an
appropriations bill must "relate specifically to some particular appropriation therein" and
"be limited in its operation to the appropriation to which it relates," it follows that any
provision which does not relate to any particular item, or which extends in its operation
beyond an item of appropriation, is considered "an inappropriate provision" which can
be vetoed separately from an item. Also to be included in the category of "inappropriate
provisions" are unconstitutional provisions and provisions which are intended to amend
other laws, because clearly these kind of laws have no place in an appropriations bill.
These are matters of general legislation more appropriately dealt with in separate
enactments. Former Justice Irene Cortes, as Amicus Curiae, commented that Congress
cannot by law establish conditions for and regulate the exercise of powers of the
President given by the Constitution for that would be an unconstitutional intrusion into
executive prerogative. cdll

The doctrine of "inappropriate provision" was well elucidated in Henry v. Edwards,

supra., thus:
"Just as the President may not use his item-veto to usurp constitutional
powers conferred on the legislature, neither can the legislature deprive the
Governor of the constitutional powers conferred on him as chief executive o cer
of the state by including in a general appropriation bill matters more properly
enacted in separate legislation. The Governor's constitutional power to veto bills of
general legislation . . . cannot be abridged by the careful placement of such
measures in a general appropriation bill, thereby forcing the Governor to choose
between approving unacceptable substantive legislation or vetoing `items' of
expenditures essential to the operation of government. The legislature cannot by
location of a bill give it immunity from executive veto. Nor can it circumvent the
Governor's veto power over substantive legislation by artfully drafting general law
measures so that they appear to be true conditions or limitations on an item of
appropriation. Otherwise, the legislature would be permitted to impair the
constitutional responsibilities and functions of a co-equal responsibilities and
functions of a co-equal branch of government in contravention of the separation
of powers doctrine . . . We are no more willing to allow the legislature to use its
appropriation power to infringe on the Governor's constitutional right to veto
matters of substantive legislation than we are to allow the Governor to encroach
on the constitutional powers of the legislature. In order to avoid this result, we hold
t h a t , when the legislature inserts inappropriate provisions in a general
appropriation bill, such provisions must be treated as 'items' for purposes of the
Governor's item veto power over general appropriation bills.
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 xxx xxx xxx

". . . Legislative control cannot be exercised in such a manner as to

encumber the general appropriation bill with veto-proof 'logrolling measures,'
special interest provisions which could not succeed if separately enacted, or
'riders,' substantive pieces of legislation incorporated in a bill to insure passage
without veto. . . ." (Emphasis supplied).

Petitioners contend that granting arguendo that the veto of the Special Provision
on the ceiling for debt payment is valid, the President cannot automatically appropriate
funds for debt payment without complying with the conditions for automatic
appropriation under the provisions of R.A. No. 4860 as amended by P.D. No. 81 and the
provisions of P.D. No. 1177 as amended by the Administrative Code of 1987 and P.D.
No. 1967 (Rollo, G.R. No. 113766, pp. 9-15).
Petitioners cannot anticipate that the President will not faithfully execute the
laws. The writ of prohibition will not issue on the fear that o cial actions will be done in
contravention of the laws. cdtai

The President vetoed the entire paragraph one of the Special Provision of the
item on debt service, including the provisos that the appropriation authorized in said
item "shall be used for payment of the principal and interest of foreign and domestic
indebtedness" and that "in no case shall this fund be used to pay for the liabilities of the
Central Bank Board of Liquidators." These provisos are germane to and have a direct
connection with the item on debt service. Inherent in the power of appropriation is the
power to specify how the money shall be spent (Henry v. Edwards, LA, 346 So., 2d.,
153). The said provisos, being appropriate provisions, cannot be vetoed separately.
Hence the item veto of said provisions is void.
We reiterate, in order to obviate any misunderstanding, that we are sustaining the
veto of the Special Provision of the item on debt service only with respect to the proviso
therein requiring that "any payment in excess of the amount herein, appropriated shall be
subject to the approval of the President of the Philippines with the concurrence of the
Congress of the Philippines . . ."
G.R. No. 113174
G.R. No. 113766
G.R. No. 113888
1. Veto of provisions for revolving funds of SUCs.
In the appropriation for State Universities and Colleges (SUC's), the President
vetoed special provisions which authorize the use of income and the creation, operation
and maintenance of revolving funds. The Special Provisions vetoed are the following: cdrep

"(H.7)West Visayas State University

'Equal Sharing of Income. Income earned by the University subject to

Section 13 of the special provisions applicable to all State Universities and
Colleges shall be equally shared by the University and the University hospital' (GAA
of 1994, p. 395).

xxx xxx xxx

(J.3)Leyte State College

'Revolving Fund for the Operation of LSC House and Human Resources
Development Center (HRDC). The income of Leyte State College derived from the
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 operation of its LSC House and HRDC shall be constituted into a Revolving Fund
to be deposited in an authorized government depository bank for the operational
expenses of these projects/services. The net income of the Revolving Fund at the
end of the year shall be remitted to the National Treasury and shall accrue to the
General Fund. The implementing guidelines shall be issued by the Department of
Budget and Management" (GAA of 1994, p. 415).

The vetoed Special Provisions applicable to all SUC's are the following:
"12. Use of Income from Extension Services. State Universities and
Colleges are authorized to use their income from their extension services. Subject
to the approval of the Board of Regents and the approval of a special budget
pursuant to Sec. 35, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292, such income shall be
utilized solely for faculty development, instructional materials and work study
program" (GAA of 1994, p. 490).

xxx xxx xxx

"13. 'Income of State Universities and Colleges. The income of State

Universities and Colleges derived from tuition fees and other sources as may be
imposed by governing boards other than those accruing to revolving funds created
under LOI Nos. 872 and 1026 and those authorized to be recorded as trust receipts
pursuant to Section 40, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292 shall be deposited with
the National Treasury and recorded as a Special Account in the General Fund
pursuant to P.D. No. 1234 and P.D. No. 1437 for the use of the institution, subject
to Section 35, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292: PROVIDED, That disbursements
from the Special Account shall not exceed the amount actually earned and
deposited: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That a cash advance on such income may be
allowed State Universities and Colleges representing up to one-half of income
actually realized during the preceding year and this cash advance shall be charged
against income actually earned during the budget year: AND PROVIDED, FINALLY,
That in no case shall such funds be used to create positions, nor for payment of
salaries, wages or allowances, except as may be speci cally approved by the
Department of Budget and Management for income-producing activities, or to
purchase equipment or books, without the prior approval of the President of the
Philippines pursuant to Letter of Implementation No. 29. LLjur

All collections of the State Universities and Colleges for fees, charges and
receipts intended for private recipient units, including private foundations affiliated
with these institutions shall be dully acknowledged with o cial receipts and
deposited as a trust receipt before said income shall be subject to Section 35,
Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292" (GAA of 1994, p. 490).

The President gave his reasons for the veto thus:

"Pursuant to Section 65 of the Government Auditing Code of the
Philippines, Section 44, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292, s. 1987 and Section 22,
Article VII of the Constitution, all income earned by all Government o ces and
agencies shall accrue to the General Fund of the Government in line with the One
Fund Policy enunciated by Section 29 (1), Article VI and Section 22, Article VII of
the Constitution. Likewise, the creation and establishment of revolving funds shall
be authorized by substantive law pursuant to Section 66 of the Government
Auditing Code of the Philippines and Section 45, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No.
292.
Notwithstanding the aforementioned provisions of the Constitution and
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 existing law, I have noted the proliferation of special provisions authorizing the
use of agency income as well as the creation, operation and maintenance of
revolving funds.

I would like to underscore the fact that such income were already
considered as integral part of the revenue and nancing sources of the National
Expenditure Program which I previously submitted to Congress. Hence, the grant
of new special provisions authorizing the use of agency income and the
establishment of revolving funds over and above the agency appropriations
authorized in this Act shall effectively reduce the nancing sources of the 1994
GAA and, at the same time, increase the level of expenditures of some agencies
beyond the well-coordinated, rationalized levels for such agencies. This
corresponding increases the overall de cit of the National Government" (Veto
Message, p. 3).

Petitioners claim that the President acted with grave abuse of discretion when he
disallowed by his veto the "use of income" and the creation of "revolving fund" by the
Western Visayas State University and Leyte State Colleges when he allowed other
government o ces, like the National Stud Farm, to use their income for their operating
expenses (Rollo, G.R. No. 113174, pp. 15-16). prcd

There was no undue discrimination when the President vetoed said special
provisions while allowing similar provisions in other government agencies. If some
government agencies were allowed to use their income and maintain a revolving fund
for that purpose, it is because these agencies have been enjoying such privilege before
by virtue of the special laws authorizing such practices as exceptions to the "one-fund
policy" (e.g., R.A. No. 4618 for the National Stud Farm, P.D. No. 902-A for the Securities
and Exchange Commission; E.O. No. 359 for the Department of Budget and
Management's Procurement Service).
2. Veto of provision on 70% (administrative)/30% (contract) ratio for road
maintenance.
In the appropriation for the Department of Public Works and Highways, the
President vetoed the second paragraph of Special Provision No. 2, specifying the 30%
maximum ratio of works to be contracted for the maintenance of national roads and
bridges. The said paragraph reads as follows:
"2. Release and Use of Road Maintenance Funds. Funds allotted for the
maintenance and repair of roads which are provided in this Act for the Department
of Public Works and Highways shall be released to the respective Engineering
District, subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the
Department of Budget and Management. Maintenance funds for roads and
bridges shall be exempt from budgetary reserve.
Of the amount herein appropriated for the maintenance of national roads
and bridges, a maximum of thirty percent (30%) shall be contracted out in
accordance with guidelines to be issued by the Department of Public Works and
Highways. The balance shall be used for maintenance by force account.

Five percent (5%) of the total road maintenance fund appropriated herein to
be applied across the board to the allocation of each region shall be set aside for
the maintenance of roads which may be converted to or taken over as national
roads during the current year and the same shall be released to the central o ce
of the said department for eventual sub-allotment to the concern region and
district: PROVIDED, That any balance of the said ve percent (5%) shall be
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 restored to the regions on a pro-rata basis for the maintenance of existing national
roads. LibLex

No retention or deduction as reserves or overhead expenses shall be made,

except as authorized by law or upon direction of the President" (GAA of 1994, pp.
785-786; Emphasis supplied).

The President gave the following reason for the veto:

"While I am cognizant of the well-intended desire of Congress to impose
certain restrictions contained in some special provisions, I am equally aware that
many programs, projects and activities of agencies would require some degree of
exibility to ensure their successful implementation and therefore risk their
completion. Furthermore, not only could there restrictions and limitations derail
and impede program implementation but they may also result in a breach of
contractual obligations.

D.1.a. A study conducted by the Infrastructure Agencies show that for

practical intent and purposes, maintenance by contract could be undertaken to an
optimum of seventy percent (70%) and the remaining thirty percent (30%) by force
account. Moreover, the policy of maximizing implementation through contract
maintenance is a covenant of the Road and Road Transport Program Loan from
the Asian Development Bank (ADB Loan No. 1047-PHI-1990) and Overseas
Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF Loan No. PH-C17-199). The same is a
covenant under the World Bank (IBRD) Loan for the Highway Management Project
(IBRD Loan No. PH - 3430) obtained in 1992.

In the light of the foregoing and considering the policy of the government to
encourage and maximize private sector participation in the regular repair and
maintenance of infrastructure facilities, I am directly vetoing the underlined
second paragraph of Special Provision No. 2 of the Department of Public Works
and Highways" (Veto Message, p. 11).

The second paragraph of Special Provision No. 2 brings to fore the divergence in
policy of Congress and the President. While Congress expressly laid down the condition
that only 30% of the total appropriation for road maintenance should be contracted out,
the President, on the basis of a comprehensive study, believed that contracting out road
maintenance projects at an option of 70% would be more e cient, economical and
practical.
The Special Provision in question is not an inappropriate provision which can be
the subject of a veto. It is not alien to the appropriation for road maintenance, and on the
other hand, it speci es how the said item shall be expended — 70% by administrative
and 30% by contract. LLpr

The 1987 Constitution allows the addition by Congress of special provisions,

conditions to items in an expenditure bill, which cannot be vetoed separately from the
items to which they relate so long as they are "appropriate" in the budgetary sense (Art.
VII, Sec. 25[2]).
The Solicitor General was hard put in justifying the veto of this special provision.
He merely argued that the provision is a complete turnabout from an entrenched
practice of the government to maximize contract maintenance (Rollo, G.R. No. 113888,
pp. 85-86). That is not a ground to veto a provision separate from the item to which it
refers.
The veto of the second paragraph of Special Provision No. 2 of the item for the
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 DPWH is therefore unconstitutional.
3. Veto of provision on purchase of medicines by AFP.
In the appropriation for the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the President
vetoed the special provision on the purchase by the AFP of medicines in compliance
with the Generics Drugs Law (R.A. No. 6675). The vetoed provision reads: LLpr

"12. Purchase of Medicines. The purchase of medicines by all Armed

Forces of the Philippines units, hospitals and clinics shall strictly comply with the
formulary embodied in the National Drug Policy of the Department of Health" (GAA
of 1994, p. 748).

According to the President, while it is desirable to subject the purchase of

medicines to a standard formulary, "it is believed more prudent to provide for a
transition period for its adoption and smooth implementation in the Armed Forces of
the Philippines" (Veto Message, p. 12).
The Special Provision which requires that all purchases of medicines by the AFP
should strictly comply with the formulary embodied in the National Drug Policy of the
Department of Health is an "appropriate" provision. It is a mere advertence by Congress
to the fact that there is an existing law, the Generics Act of 1988, that requires "the
extensive use of drugs with generic names through a rational system of procurement
and distribution." The President believes that it is more prudent to provide for a
transition period for the smooth implementation of the law in the case of purchases by
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, as implied by Section 11 (Education Drive) of the
law itself. This belief, however, cannot justify his veto of the provision on the purchase of
medicines by the AFP.
Being directly related to and inseparable from the appropriation item on
purchases of medicines by the AFP, the special provision cannot be vetoed by the
President without also vetoing the said item (Bolinao Electronics Corporation v.
Valencia, 11 SCRA 486 [1964]). cdrep

4. Veto of provision on prior approval of Congress for purchase of military

equipment.
In the appropriation for the modernization of the AFP, the President vetoed the
underlined proviso of the Special Provision No. 2 on the "Use of Fund," which requires
the prior approval of the Congress for the release of the corresponding modernization
funds, as well as the entire Special Provision No. 3 on the "Specific Prohibition":
"2. Use of the Fund. Of the amount herein appropriated, priority shall be
given for the acquisition of AFP assets necessary for protecting marine, mineral,
forest and other resources within Philippine territorial borders and its economic
zone, detection, prevention or deterrence of air or surface intrusions and to support
diplomatic moves aimed at preserving national dignity, sovereignty and
patrimony: PROVIDED, That the said modernization fund shall not be released
until a Table of Organization and Equipment for FY 1994-2000 is submitted to and
approved by Congress.
3. Speci c Prohibition. The said Modernization Fund shall not be used
for payment of six (6) additional S-211 Trainer planes, 18 SF-260 Trainer planes
and 150 armored personnel carriers" (GAA of 1994, p. 747).

As reason for the veto, the President stated that the said condition and
prohibition violate the Constitutional mandate of non-impairment of contractual
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 obligations, and if allowed, "shall effectively alter the original intent of the AFP
Modernization Fund to cover all military equipment deemed necessary to modernize the
Armed Forces of the Philippines" (Veto Message, p. 12).
Petitioners claim that Special Provision No. 2 on the "Use of Fund" and Special
Provision NO. 3 are conditions or limitations related to the item on the AFP
modernization plan.
The requirement in Special Provision No. 2 on the "use of Fund" for the AFP
modernization program that the President must submit all purchases of military
equipment to Congress for its approval, is an exercise of the "congressional or
legislative veto." By way of de nition, a congressional veto is a means whereby the
legislature can block or modify administrative action taken under a statute. It is a form
of legislative control in the implementation of particular executive actions. The form
may be either negative, that is requiring disapproval of the executive action, or
a rmative, requiring approval of the executive action. This device represents a
signi cant attempt by Congress to move from oversight of the executive to shared
administration (Dixon, The Congressional Veto and Separation of Powers: The Executive
on a Leash, 56 North Carolina Law Review, 423 [1978]). LexLib

A congressional veto is subject to serious questions involving the principle of

separation of powers.
However the case at bench is not the proper occasion to resolve the issues of the
validity of the legislative veto as provided in Special Provisions Nos. 2 and 3 because
the issues at hand can be disposed of on other grounds. Any provision blocking an
administrative action in implementing a law or requiring legislative approval of executive
acts must be incorporated in a separate and substantive bill. Therefore, being
"inappropriate" provisions, Special Provisions Nos. 2 and 3 were properly vetoed.
As commented by Justice Irene Cortes in her memorandum as Amicus Curiae:
"What Congress cannot do directly by law it cannot do indirectly by attaching conditions
to the exercise of that power (of the President as Commander-in-Chief) through
provisions in the appropriation law."
Furthermore, Special Provision No. 3, prohibiting the use of the Modernization
fund for payment of the trainer planes and armored personnel carriers, which have been
contracted for by the AFP, is violative of the Constitutional prohibition on the passage of
laws that impair the obligation of contracts (Art. III, Sec. 10), more so, contracts entered
into by the Government itself.
The veto of said special provision is therefore valid.
5. Veto of provision on use of savings to augment AFP pension funds.
In the appropriation for the AFP Pension and Gratuity Fund, the President vetoed
the new provision authorizing the Chief of Staff to use savings in the AFP to augment
pension and gratuity funds. The vetoed provision reads: prcd

"2. Use of Savings. The Chief of Staff, AFP, is authorized, subject to the
approval of the Secretary of National Defense, to use savings in the appropriations
provided herein to augment the pension fund being managed by the AFP
Retirement and Separation Bene ts System as provided under Sections 2(a) and 3
of P.D. No. 361" (GAA of 1994, p. 746).

According to the President, the grant of retirement and separation bene ts

should be covered by direct appropriations speci cally approved for the purpose
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 pursuant to Section 29(1) of Article VI of the Constitution. Moreover, he stated that the
authority to use savings is lodged in the o cials enumerated in Section 25(5) of Article
VI of the Constitution (Veto Message, pp. 7-8).
Petitioners claim that the Special Provision on AFP Pension and Gratuity Fund is a
condition or limitation which is so intertwined with the item of appropriation that it
could not be separated therefrom.
The Special Provision, which allows the Chief of Staff to use savings to augment
the pension fund for the AFP being managed by the AFP Retirement and Separation
Bene ts System is violative of Sections 25(5) and 29(1) of the Article VI of the
Constitution.
U n d e r Section 25(5) no law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of
appropriations, and under Section 29(1), no money shall be paid out of the Treasury
except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law. While Section 25(5) allows as an
exception the realignment of savings to augment items in the general appropriations
law for the executive branch, such right must and can be exercised only by the President
pursuant to a specific law. Cdpr

6. Condition on the deactivation of the CAFGU's.

Congress appropriated compensation for the CAFGU's including the payment of
separation benefits but it added the following Special Provision:
"1. CAFGU Compensation and Separation Bene t. The appropriation
authorized herein shall be sued for the compensation of CAFGU's including the
payment of their separation bene t not exceeding one (1) year subsistence
allowance for the 11,000 members who will be deactivated in 1994. The Chief of
Staff, AFP, shall subject to the approval of the Secretary of National Defense,
promulgate policies and procedures for the payment of separation bene t" (GAA
of 1994, p. 740).

The President declared in his Veto Message that the implementation of this
Special Provision to the item on the CAFGU's shall be subject to prior Presidential
approval pursuant to P.D. No. 1597 and R.A. No. 6758. He gave the following reasons
for imposing the condition: prLL

"I am well cognizant of the laudable intention of Congress in proposing the

amendment of Special Provision No. 1 of the CAFGU. However, it is premature at
this point in time of our peace process to earmark and declare through special
provision the actual number of CAFGU members to be deactivated in CY 1994. I
understand that the number to be deactivated would largely depend on the result
or degree of success of the on-going peace initiatives which are not yet precisely
determinable today. I have desisted, therefore, to directly veto said provisions
because this would mean the loss of the entire special provision to the prejudice of
its bene cent provisions. I therefore declare that the actual implementation of this
special provision shall be subject to prior Presidential approval pursuant to the
provisions of P.D. No. 1597 and R.A. No. 6758" (Veto Message, P. 13).

Petitioners claim that the Congress has required the deactivation of the CAFGU's
when it appropriated the money for payment of the separation pay of the members of
thereof. The President, however, directed that the deactivation should be done in
accordance to his timetable, taking into consideration the peace and order situation in
the affected localities.
Petitioners complain that the directive of the President was tantamount to an
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 administrative embargo of the congressional will to implement the Constitution's
command to dissolve the CAFGU's (Rollo, G.R. No. 113174, p. 14; G.R. No. 113888, pp.
9, 14-16). They argue that the President cannot impair or withhold expenditures
authorized and appropriated by Congress when neither the Appropriations Act nor other
legislation authorize such impounding (Rollo, G.R. No. 113888, pp. 15-16).
The Solicitor General contends that it is the President, as Commander-in-Chief of
the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who should determine when the services of the
CAFCU's are no longer needed (Rollo, G.R. No. 113888, pp. 92-95).
This is the rst case before this Court where the power of the President to
impound is put in issue. Impoundment refers to a refusal by the President, for whatever
reason, to spend funds made available by Congress. It is the failure to spend or obligate
budget authority of any type (Notes: Impoundment of Funds, 86 Harvard Law Review
1505 [1973]). LibLex

Those who deny to the President the power to impound argue that once
Congress has set aside the fund for a speci c purpose in an appropriations act, it
becomes mandatory on the part of the President to implement the project and to spend
the money appropriated therefor. the President has no discretion on the matter, for the
Constitution imposes on him the duty to faithfully execute the laws.
In refusing or deferring the implementation of an appropriation item, the
President in effect exercises a veto power that is not expressly granted by the
Constitution. As a matter of fact, the Constitution does not say anything about
impounding. The source of the Executive authority must be found elsewhere.
Proponents of impoundment have invoked at least three principal sources of the
authority of the President. Foremost is the authority to impound given to him either
expressly or impliedly by Congress. Second is the executive power drawn from the
President's role as Commander-in-Chief. Third is the Faithful Execution Clause which
ironically is the same provisions invoked by petitioners herein.
The proponents insist that a faithful execution of the laws requires that the
President desist from implementing the law if doing so would prejudice public interest.
An example given is when through e cient and prudent management of a project,
substantial savings are made. In such a case, it is sheer folly to expect the President to
spend the entire amount budgeted in the law (Notes: Presidential Impoundment
Constitutional Theories and Political Realities, 61 Georgetown Law Journal 1295 [1973];
Notes Protecting the Fisc: Executive Impoundment and Congressional Power, 82 Yale
Law Journal 1686 [1973]).
We do not nd anything in the language used in the challenged Special Provision
that would imply that Congress intended to deny to the President the right to defer or
reduce the spending, much less to deactivate 11,000 CAFGU members all at one in
1994. But even if such is the intention, the appropriation law is not the proper vehicle for
such purpose. Such intention must be embodied and manifested in another law
considering that it abrades the powers of the Commander-in-Chief and there are
existing laws on the creation of the CAFGU's to be amended. Again we state: a provision
in an appropriations act cannot be used to repeal or amend other laws, in this case, P.D.
No. 1597 and R.A. No. 6758.
7. Conditions on the appropriation for the Supreme Court, etc.
(a) In the appropriations for the Supreme Court, Ombudsman, COA, and CHR,
the Congress added the following provisions:
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 The Judiciary

xxx xxx xxx

Special Provisions

"1. Augmentation of any Item in the Court's Appropriations. Any

savings in the appropriations for the Supreme Court and the Lower Courts may be
utilized by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to augment any item of the
Court's appropriations for (a) printing of decisions and publication of `Philippine
Reports'; (b) commutable terminal leaves of Justices and other personnel of the
Supreme Court and payment of adjusted pension rates to retired Justices entitled
thereto pursuant to Administrative Matter No. 91-8-225-C.A.; (c) repair,
maintenance, improvement and other operating expenses of the courts' libraries,
including purchase of books and periodicals; (d) purchase, maintenance and
improvement of printing equipment; (e) necessary expenses for the employment of
temporary employees, contractual and casual employees, for judicial
administration; (f) maintenance and improvement of the Court's Electronic Data
Processing System; (g) extraordinary expenses of the Chief Justice, attendance in
international conferences and conduct of training programs; (h) commutable
transportation and representation allowances and fringe bene ts for Justices,
Clerks of Court, Court Administrator, Chiefs of O ces and other Court personnel in
accordance with the rates prescribed by law; and (i) compensation of attorney-de-
o cio; PROVIDED, That as mandated by LOI No. 489 any increase in salary and
allowances shall be subject to the usual procedures and policies as provided for
under P.D. No. 985 and other pertinent laws" (GAA of 1994, p. 1128; Emphasis
supplied).

xxx xxx xxx

Commission on Audit

xxx xxx xxx

"5. Use of Savings. The Chairman of the Commission on Audit is

hereby authorized, subject to appropriate accounting and auditing rules and
regulations, to use savings for the payment of fringe bene ts as may be
authorized by law for o cials and personnel of the Commission" (GAA of 1994, p.
1161; Emphasis supplied).

xxx xxx xxx

Office of the Ombudsman

xxx xxx xxx

"6. Augmentation of Items in the Appropriation of the O ce of the

Ombudsman. The Ombudsman is hereby authorized, subject to appropriate
accounting and auditing rules and regulations to augment items of appropriation
in the O ce of the Ombudsman from savings in other items of appropriation
actually released, for: (a) printing and/or publication of decisions, resolutions,
training and information materials; (b) repair, maintenance and improvement of
OMB Central and Area/Sectoral facilities; (c) purchase of books, journals,
periodicals and equipment; (d) payment of commutable representation and
transportation allowances of o cials and employees who by reason of their
positions are entitled thereto and fringe bene ts as may be authorized speci cally
by law for o cials and personnel of OMB pursuant to Section 8 of Article IX-B of
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 the Constitution; and (e) for other o cial purposes subject to accounting and
auditing rules and regulations" (GAA of 1994, p. 1178, Emphasis supplied).

xxx xxx xxx

Commission on Human Rights

xxx xxx xxx

"1. Use of Savings. The Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights

(CHR) is hereby authorized, subject to appropriate accounting and auditing rules
and regulations, to augment any item of appropriation in the o ce of the CHR
from savings in other items of appropriations from savings in other items of
appropriations actually released, for: (a) printing and/or publication of decisions,
resolutions, training materials and educational publications; (b) repair,
maintenance and improvement of Commission's central and regional facilities; (c)
purchase of books, journals, periodicals and equipment, (d) payment of
commutable representation and transportation allowances of o cials and
employees who by reason of their positions are entitled thereto and fringe benefits,
as may be authorized by law for o cials and personnel of CHR, subject to
accounting and auditing rules and regulations" (GAA of 1994, p. 1178; Emphasis
supplied).

In his Veto Message, the President expressed his approval of the conditions
included in the GAA of 1994. He noted that:
"The said condition is consistent with the Constitutional injunction
prescribed under Section 8, Article IX-B of the Constitutional which states that 'no
elective or appointive public o cer or employee shall receive additional, double, or
indirect compensation unless speci cally authorized by law.' I am, therefore,
con dent that the heads of the said o ces shall maintain delity to the law and
faithfully adhere to the well-established principle on compensation
standardization (Veto Message, p. 10).

Petitioners claim that the conditions imposed by the President violated the
independence and scal autonomy of the Supreme court, the Ombudsman, the COA and
the CHR.
In the rst place, the conditions questioned by petitioners were placed in the GAB
by Congress itself, not by the President. The Veto Message merely highlighted the
Constitutional mandate that additional or indirect compensation can only be given
pursuant to law. LLphil

In the second place, such statements are mere reminders that the disbursements
of appropriations must be made in accordance with law. Such statements may, at
worse, be treated as superfluities.
(b) In the appropriation for the COA, the President imposed the condition that
the implementation of the budget of the COA be subject to "the guidelines to be issued
by the President." LibLex

The provisions subject to said condition reads:

xxx xxx xxx

"3. Revolving Fund. The income of the Commission on Audit derived

from sources authorized by the Government Auditing Code of the Philippines (P.D.
No. 1445) not exceeding Ten Million Pesos (P10,000,000) shall be constituted into
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 a revolving fund which shall be used for maintenance, operating and other
incidental expenses to enhance audit services and audit-related activities. The
fund shall be deposited in an authorized government depository ban, and
withdrawals therefrom shall be made in accordance with the procedure prescribed
by law and implementing rules and regulations: PROVIDED, That any interests
earned on such deposit shall be remitted at the end of each quarter to the National
Treasury and shall accrue to the General Fund: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the
Commission on Audit shall submit to the Department of Budget and Management
a quarterly report of income and expenditures of said revolving fund" (GAA of
1994, pp. 1160-1161).

The President cited the "imperative need to rationalize" the implementation,

applicability and operation of use of income and revolving funds. The Veto Message
stated:
". . . I have observed that there are old and long existing special provisions
authorizing the use of income and the creation of revolving funds. As a rule, such
authorizations should be discouraged. However, I take it that these authorizations
have legal/statutory basis aside from being already a vested right to the agencies
concerned which should not be jeopardized through the Veto Message. There is,
however, imperative need to rationalize their implementation, applicability and
operation. thus, in order to substantive the purpose and intention of said
provisions, I hereby declare that the operationalization of the following provisions
during budget implementation shall be subject to the guidelines to be issued by
the President pursuant to Section 35, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. No. 292 and
Sections 65 and 66 of P.D. No. 1445 in relation to Sections 2 and 3 of the General
Provisions of this Act" (Veto Message, p. 6; Emphasis supplied).

(c) In the appropriation for the DPWH, the President imposed the condition
that in the implementation of DPWH projects, the administrative and engineering
overhead of 5% and 3% "shall be subject to the necessary administrative guidelines to
be formulated by the Executive pursuant to existing laws." The condition was imposed
because the provision "needs further study" according to the President. LibLex

The following provision was made subject to said condition:

"9. Engineering and Administrative Overhead. Not more than ve
percent (5%) of the amount for infrastructure project released by the Department
of Budget and Management shall be deducted by DPWH for administrative
overhead, detailed engineering and construction supervision, testing and quality
control, and the like, thus insuring that at least ninety- ve percent (95%) of the
released fund is available for direct implementation of the project. PROVIDED,
HOWEVER, That for school buildings, health centers, daycare centers and
barangay halls, the deductible amount shall not exceed three percent (3%).

Violation of, or non-compliance with, this provision shall subject the

government o cial or employee concerned to administrative, civil and/or criminal
sanction under Sections 43 and 80, Book VI of E.O. No. 292" (GAA of 1994, p. 786).

(d) In the appropriation for the National Housing Authority (NHA), the
President imposed the condition that allocations for speci c projects shall be released
and disbursed "in accordance with the housing program of the government, subject to
prior Executive approval." prcd

The provision subject to the said condition reads:

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 "3. Allocations for Speci c Projects. The following allocations for the
speci ed projects shall be set aside for corollary works and used exclusively for
the repair, rehabilitation and construction of buildings, roads, pathwalks, drainage,
waterworks systems, facilities and amenities in the area: PROVIDED, That any
road to be constructed or rehabilitated shall conform with the speci cations and
standards set by the Department of Public Works and Highways for such kind of
road: PROVIDED, FURTHER, That savings that may be available in the future shall
be used for road repair, rehabilitation and construction:

(1) Maharlika Village Road — Not less than P5,000,000

(2) Tenement Housing Project (Taguig) — Not less than P3,000,000

(3) Bagong Lipunan Condominium Project (Taguig) — Not less than

P2,000,000.

4. Allocation of Funds. Out of the amount appropriated for the

implementation of various projects in resettlement areas, Seven Million Five
Hundred Thousand pesos (P7,500,000) shall be allocated to the Dasmariñas
Bagong Bayan resettlement area, Eighteen Million Pesos (P18,000,000) to the
Carmona Relocation Center Area (Gen. Marinao Alvarez) and Three Million Pesos
(P3,000,000) to the Bulihan Sites and Services, all of which will be for the
cementing of roads in accordance with DPWH standards.

5. Allocation for Sapang Palay. An allocation of Eight Million Pesos

(P8,000,000) shall be set aside for the asphalting of seven (7) kilometer main road
of Sapang Palay, San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan" (GAA of 1994, p. 1216).

The President imposed the conditions: (a) that the "operationalization" of the
special provision on revolving fund of the COA "shall be subject to guidelines to be
issued by the President pursuant to Section 35, Chapter 5, Book VI of E.O. 292 and
Sections 65 and 66 of P.D. No. 1445 in relation to Sections 2 and 3 of the General
Provisions of this Act" (Rollo, G.R. NO. 113174, pp. 5, 7-8); (b) that the implementation
of Special Provision No. 9 of the DPWH on the mandatory retention of 5% and 3% of the
amounts released by said Department "be subject to the necessary administrative
guidelines to be formulated by the Executive pursuant to existing law" (Rollo, G.R. No.
113888; p. 10, 14-16); and (c) that the appropriations authorized for the NHA can be
released only "in accordance with the housing program of the government subject to
prior Executive approval" (Rollo, G.R. No. 113888, pp. 10-11; 14-16). prLL

The conditions objected to by petitioners are mere reminders that the

implementation of the items on which the said conditions were imposed, should be
done in accordance with existing laws, regulations or policies. They did not add anything
to what was already in place at the time of the approval of the GAA of 1994.
There is less basis to complain when the President said that the expenditures
shall be subject to guidelines he will issue. Until the guidelines are issued, it cannot be
determined whether they are proper or inappropriate. The issuance of administrative
guidelines on the use of public funds authorized by Congress is simply an exercise by
the President of his constitutional duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed (1987
Constitution, Art. VII, Sec. 17; Planas v. Gil , 67 Phil. 62 [1939]). Under the Faithful
Execution Clause, the President has the power to take "necessary and proper steps" to
carry into execution the law (Schwartz, On Constitutional Law, p. 147 [1977]). These
steps are the ones to be embodied in the guidelines.
IV
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 Petitioners chose to avail of the special civil actions but those remedies can be
used only when respondents have acted "without or in excess" of jurisdiction, or "with
grave abuse of discretion," (Revised Rules of Court, Rule 65, Section 2). How can we
begrudge the President for vetoing the Special Provision on the appropriation for debt
payment when he merely followed our decision in Gonzales? How can we say that
Congress has abused its discretion when it appropriated a bigger sum for debt
payment than the amount appropriated for education, when it merely followed our
dictum in Guingona? cdrep

Article 8 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, provides:

"Judicial decisions applying or interpreting the laws or the constitution shall
form a part of the legal system of the Philippines."

The Court's interpretation of the law is part of that law as of the date of its
enactment since the court's interpretation merely establishes the contemporary
legislative intent that the construed law purports to carry into effect (People v. Licera,
65 SCRA 270 [1975]). Decisions of the Supreme Court assume the same authority as
statutes (Floresca v. Philex Mining Corporation, 136 SCRA 141 [1985]).
Even if Guingona, and Gonzales are considered hard cases that make bad laws
and should be reversed, such reversal cannot nullify prior acts done in reliance thereof.
WHEREFORE, the petitions are DISMISSED, except with respect with respect to
(1) G.R. Nos. 113105 and 113766 only insofar as they pray for the annulment of the veto
of the special provision on debt service specifying that the fund therein appropriated
"shall be used for payment of the principal and interest of foreign and domestic
indebtedness" prohibiting the use of the said funds "to pay for the liabilities of the
Central Bank Board of Liquidators", and (2) G.R. No. 113888 only insofar as it prays for
the annulment of the veto of: (a) the second paragraph of Special Provision No. 2 of the
item of appropriation for the Department of Public Works and Highways (GAA of 1994,
pp. 785-786); and (b) Special Provision No. 12 on the purchase of medicines by the
Armed Forces of the Philippines (GAA of 1994, p. 748), which is GRANTED. prcd

SO ORDERED.
Narvasa, C.J., Feliciano, Bidin, Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero, Bellosillo, Melo, Puno,
Kapunan and Mendoza, JJ., concur.

Separate Opinions
PADILLA, J ., concurring :

I concur with the ponencia of Mr. Justice Camilo D. Quiason except in so far as it
re-affirms the Court's decision in Gonzalez v. Macaraig (191 SCRA 452).
Sec. 27 (2), Art. VI of the Constitution states:
"The President shall have the power to veto any particular item or items in
an appropriation, revenue, or tariff bill, but the veto shall not affect the item or
items to which he does not object." cdasia

In my dissenting opinion in Gonzalez, I stated that:

"The majority opinion positions the veto questioned in this case within the
scope of Section 27 (2) [Article VI of the Constitution]. I do not see how this can be
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 done without doing violence to the constitutional design. The distinction between
a n item-veto and a provision-veto has been traditionally recognized in
constitutional litigation and budgetary practice. As stated by Mr. Justice
Sutherland, speaking for the U.S. Supreme Court in Bengzon v. Secretary of
Justice, 229 U.S. 410-416:
'. . . An item of an appropriation bill obviously means an item which
in itself is a speci c appropriation of money, not some general provisions
of law which happens to be put into an appropriation bill. . . '

When the Constitution in Section 27 (2) empowers the President to veto any
particular item or items in the appropriation act, it does not confer — in fact, it
excludes — the power to veto any particular provision or provisions in said act.

In an earlier case, Sarmiento v. Mison, et al . 156 SCRA 549, this court

referred to its duty to construe the Constitution, not in accordance with how the
executive or the legislative would want it construed, but in accordance with what it
says and provides. When the Constitution states that the President has the power
to veto any particular item or items in the appropriation act, this must be taken as
a component of that delicate balance of power between the executive and
legislative, so that, for this Court to construe Sec. 27 (2) of the Constitution as also
empowering the President to veto any particular provision or provisions in the
appropriations act, is to load the scale in favor of the executive, at the expense of
that delicate balance of power."

I therefore disagree with the majority's pronouncements which would validate the
veto by the President of speci c provisions in the appropriations act based on the
contention that such are "inappropriate provisions." Even assuming, for the sake of
argument, that a provision in the appropriations act is "inappropriate" from the
Presidential standpoint, it is still a provision, not an item, in an appropriations act and,
therefore, outside the veto power of the Executive. LibLex

VITUG, J ., concurring :

I concur on the points so well expounded by a most respected colleague, Mr.

Justice Camilo D. Quiason. I should like to highlight a bit, however, that part of the
ponencia dealing on the Countrywide Development Fund or, so commonly referred to as,
the infamous "pork barrel." LexLib

I agree that it lies with Congress to determine in an appropriation act the

activities and the projects that are desirable and may thus be funded. Once, however,
such identi cation and the corresponding appropriation therefor is done, the legislative
act is completed and it ends there. Thereafter, the Executive is behooved, with exclusive
responsibility and authority, to see to it that the legislative will is properly carried out. I
cannot subscribe to another theory invoked by some quarters that, in so implementing
the law, the Executive does so only by way of delegation. Congress neither may delegate
what it does not have nor may encroach on the powers of a co-equal, independent and
coordinate branch.
Within its own sphere, Congress acts as a body, not as the individuals that
comprise it, in any action or decision that can bind it, or be said to have been done by it,
under its constitutional authority. Even assuming that overseeing the laws it enacts
continues to be a legislative process, one that I nd di cult to accept, it is Congress
itself, not any of its members, that must exercise that function. prcd

I cannot debate the fact that the members of Congress, more than the President
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 and his colleagues, would have the best feel on the needs of their own respective
constituents. I see no legal obstacle, however, in their making, just like anyone else, the
proper recommendations to, albeit not necessarily conclusive on, the President for the
purpose. Neither would it be objectionable for Congress, by law, to appropriate funds
for such speci c projects as it may be minded; to give that authority, however, to the
individual members of Congress in whatever guise, I am afraid, would be constitutionally
impermissible.

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