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The Supreme Court (SC) has ordered the House of Representatives, Senate, and Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin to comment on the petition challenging the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2025.
Petitioner Victor Rodriguez and several others are challenging the constitutionality of the GAA 2025.
The petitioners argue that the GAA is unconstitutional for failing to allocate mandatory funding for PhilHealth, unlawfully increasing appropriations beyond the President’s recommendations, and allocating the highest budget to infrastructure over education.
In addition, they claim that it is unconstitutional since the Bicameral Committee Report on the General Appropriations Bill contained blank items.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. warned last week that the government would “shut down” if the SC favors the petition.
Meanwhile, in a separate interview with Manila Standard, lawyer Michael Yusingco explained that “if the GAA in its entirety is declared unconstitutional, then it would mean a failure to pass a general appropriations bill.”
He cited Article VI, Section 25 of the Constitution which provides that “If, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed re-enacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress.”
Yusingco, who is also a constitutionalist and independent policy analyst, clarified there can never be a government shutdown but there will be severe disruptions. — Pot Chavez
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Credit belongs to: www.manilastandard.net
