Supreme Court limits standby budget funds, hailed as win for fiscal transparency

In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court declared that key provisions of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 national budgets violated constitutional spending limits by allowing lawmakers to expand unprogrammed, or standby, funds without proper authorization. Rep. Leila de Lima, a co-petitioner, welcomed the ruling as a significant victory for fiscal transparency, emphasizing that the funds were intended as a contingency, not a slush-bank.

She warned that the court stopped short of eliminating standby funding altogether. Unprogrammed appropriations have been used to finance foreign-backed infrastructure and the military’s modernization, and have expanded dramatically since the 2022 General Appropriations Act, becoming a vehicle for pork-barrel projects. Rep. Antonio Tinio described the decision as a necessary check on both branches of government and urged the House to revisit House Bill No. 10858, which mirrors the now-unconstitutional provisions, and called on the Senate to act as well. The decision could shape future budgetary practices and constitutional compliance in the Philippines.