Constitutional bodies like the Supreme Court which enjoy fiscal autonomy, have agreed on a stricter use of their savings – apparently a result of the controversy involving the executives special spending scheme, the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). The SC declared certain practices under the DAP unconstitutional, a move that piqued President Benigno Aquino III. A court insider, who refused to be identified, said all constitutional bodies had forged an agreement to stop the practice of accumulating savings from previous budgets which allowed them to use the savings for other intended purposes. The issue of savings is at the core of the controversy in the DAP case. “By agreement of all constitutional bodies, starting 2014, all savings will be realigned immediately at the end of the fiscal year. Once realigned, the funds remain with the constitutional bodies until they are used for the realigned purposes,” the source said. In its DAP ruling, the Tribunal ruled unconstitutional the government’s withdrawal of funds from implementing agencies and declaring them as savings prior to the end of the fiscal year. The SC also reminded the executive branch that such savings should be reverted back to the National Treasury at the end of the fiscal year. But such rule apparently does not apply to constitutional bodies, which are collectively known as the Constitutional Fiscal Autonomy Group (CFAG). Apart from the judiciary, also falling under this group are the Civil Service Commission, the Commission on Audit, the Commission on Elections, the Commission on Human Rights, and the Office of the Ombudsman. “The reversion to the General Funds of savings that are not realigned at the end of the year applies only to executive offices that do not enjoy constitutional fiscal autonomy,” the court insider explained.
Posted on: Tue, 05 Aug 2014 00:25:59 +0000
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