Caloocan City 2nd District Representative Edgar Erice said Sunday he would file a petition before the Supreme Court challenging the constitutionality of unprogrammed funds in the ₱6.793 trillion 2026 national budget if President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. does not veto them.
Erice, citing Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, argued that such appropriations are unconstitutional.
“Ang aking problema yung constitutionality ng unprogrammed appropriations at kung hindi yan ive-veto ng Presidente, nakahanda yung legal team ko, kasalukuyan kaming gumagawa ng draft, nung petition sa Supreme Court,” he said in a radio interview.
He noted that while the 2026 budget is more organized than previous years, it still contains items that should be under programmed funds.
“Halimbawa, ‘yung retirement ng mga teachers, dapat mandatory yun. ‘Yung increase ng mga teachers. Dapat sa programmed fund iyun,” Erice added.
Unprogrammed appropriations are funded only if excess revenue or other sources such as loans become available. The bicameral conference committee ratified the budget on January 29, including ₱243 billion in unprogrammed funds.