No. 122 - 30 October 2006

Supreme Court Votes Against People's Initiative

The Supreme Court voted 8-7 to reject People's Initiative as a means for amending the Constitution. In a decision written by Justice Antonio T. Carpio, the Court affirmed that petitioners Sigaw ng Bayan and the Union of Local Authorities in the Philippines (ULAP) led by Atty. Raul Lambino and Gov. Erico Aumentado failed to even comply procedurally with the mechanics of obtaining signatures for a petition.

Aside from Carpio, the majority decision was signed by Chief Justice Artemio V. Panganiban, Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez, Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez, Conchita Carpio Morales, Romeo J. Callejo Sr., and Adolfo S. Azcuna. The dissenting opinions were signed by Justices Reynato S. Puno, Leonardo Quisumbing, Renato C. Corona, Dante Q. Tinga, Minita V. Chico-Nazario, Cancio C. Garcia and Presbitero J. Velasco Jr.

The Court ruled that Lambino and Sigaw were not the proper parties to raise the issue, that Republic Act No. 6735 was not a sufficient law for enabling initiative and referendum, and that the petitioners did not show the people the entire revision they were advocating. The majority report also ruled that the Commission on Elections did not abuse its discretion when it dismissed the Sigaw petition, that the 12% and 3% requirements were not proven to have been satisfied, and that with all these defects, there was no point in remanding the case to the Comelec.

The Court also noted that the petitioners admitted that their initiative was an “unqualified support to the agenda of President Arroyo to change the Constitution” as petitioners' resolution specified that “ULAP maintains its unqualified support to the agenda of Her Excellency PGMA for constitutional reforms”.

The ruling stressed that the signature sheet did not show the people the draft of the proposed change before they were asked to sign. Thus, the Court ruled that, “ Clearly, the signature sheet is not the petition that the framers of the Constitution envisioned when they formulated the initiative clause in Section 2, Article XVII of the Constitution”.

It stressed that the Constitution, being the fundamental law of the land, deserves the utmost respect and obedience of all the citizens of this nation, adding that “ no one can trivialize the Constitution by cavalierly amending or revising it in blatant violation of the clearly specified modes of amendment and revision laid down in the Constitution itself”.

The Court further stressed that to allow such change in the fundamental law “is to set adrift the Constitution in uncharted waters, to be tossed and turned by every dominant political group of the day.” If this Court allows today a cavalier change in the Constitution outside the constitutionally prescribed modes, tomorrow, the new dominant political group that comes will demand its own set of changes in the same cavalier and unconstitutional fashion. A revolving-door constitution does not augur well for the rule of law in this country.

The Court said that “incantations of people’s voice”, “people’s sovereign will” or “let the people decide” cannot override the specific modes of changing the Constitution as prescribed in the Constitution itself. Otherwise, the Constitution becomes easily susceptible to manipulative changes by political groups gathering signatures through false promises. Then, the Constitution ceases to be the bedrock of the nation’s stability.”

House ends 3rd Session with 155 bills

As if to pay their dues, Congress approved an important legislation on 13 October 2006 – The last session day before the Congressmen take a three-week recess (14 October – 5 November). Approved on third and final reading the proposed P1.126 trillion General Appropriations Act for 2007. The vote was 198 for and seven was against with no abstention, at the end of a marathon session that lasted almost 15 hours. Malacañan certified the measure urgent.

The national outlay contained in House Bill No. 5794 was geared towards a balanced budget before 2010, the time frame under the Philippine Medium Development Plan.

Proponents claim that the proposed budget is backed by P 100-billion from the EVAT law resulting from an expected reduced deficit. In approving the measure the House proponents hope to avoid a clash again with the Senate that resulted with a re-enacted budget for 2006.

The budget measure is expected to reduce the national deficit and finance most of the financial requirements of the administration’s social and economic reforms.

Budget Allocation

The top five departments that received the largest allocation are Education (P 134.7 billion); Public Works and Highways (P 73.6 billion); Local Government (P 51.1 billion); National Defense (P 49.5 billion); and Agriculture, inclusive of its Agricultural and Fisheries Modernization Program component (P 18.5 billion).

Amendments were initiated allocating P 550 million to the Office of the Ombudsman to strengthen its capacity in reducing public corruption. In contrast, the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) got a P 1-budget for adamantly refusing to lift the X-rating on President Joseph Estrada’s biopic.

The other departments and their respective allocations are:

• Department of Transportation and Communications P 17.5 billion
• Department of Agrarian Reform (including ARF) P 15.6 billion
• Department of Health P 11.7 billion
• Commission on Election P 9.8 billion
• Judiciary P 9.7 billion
• Department of Social Welfare & Development P 3.98 billion

By sectoral allocation, social services get the highest priority for 2007. The reduction of debt payments by P 11.267 billion in 2007 had allowed for a bigger allocation for the social services sector. Among the sectors, only interest payments did not post an increase from the 2006 figure of P 339.998 billion.

On priority programs, the Arroyo administration wants DepEd to prioritize schools with a 100:1 classroom-to-student ratio for the school-building program. Around P 3.5 billion of DoH’s budget would expand PhilHealth’s insurance coverage and upgrade state hospitals to be capable of more complicated procedures. While the DSWDs budget would be mostly spent on the Kapit-bisig Laban sa Kahirapan (Kalahi) program.

The proposed budget has a parallel program to collect the first trillion revenue of about P 1.2 trillion. The collections will depend largely on the ability of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the Bureau of Customs (BOC) to deliver these targets.

In past years, the budget has been one of the major thorns between the Senate & the Executive branch. The government has been operating on a re-enacted budget for the last two years. It will be recalled that talks between the Senate and the House of Representatives to harmonize their versions of the proposed 2006 budget had collapsed on the House panel’s insistence — on the behest of Malacañan — to restore the Executive’s discretionary funds which the Senate had cut, particularly the P 3.69-billion Kilos Asenso Support Fund and the P 3-billion Kalayaan Barangay Program Fund. Even administration-aligned members of the ruling party-dominated House later on blamed the Palace for refusing to make concessions that would have resulted in the ratification by both chambers of the 2006 budget.

For now, the Senate finance committee chairman has not identified such “pork” funds since the committee has not finished hearing the budget proposals of all departments. Targeted to be examined first are the over P 1-billion to P 2-billion “intelligence funds” of offices not connected to either law enforcement or counterinsurgency.

Although, it is noteworthy that there has been marked increase in the budgets of the DepEd, DSWD and DoH that would be allocated for pro-poor programs, possible contentions to an early approval of the 2007 budget would rest on the area of discretionary funds the Executive will not be able to justify. This time, the Budget Secretary has stressed that any re-alignment of budget items should complement the social services “menu,” meaning: roads, bridges, water supply, electrification, and school buildings with no room for services outside of these items.

Approval Timetable

However, in separate pre-approval statements from leaders of both chambers it appears that a new budget would be enacted by 1 January 2007. The House approved on final and third reading HB 5794 on 13 October and is expected to submit it to the Senate when Congress resumes its 3rd session on 6 November. This will give the Senate ample time to debate and approve it before the Christmas break. On the other hand, the Senate aims to approve the proposed 2007 budget by mid-November. The Senate finance committee is scheduled to wrap up budget hearings for all departments by the second week of November. If this deadline is met, the bicameral conference committee should be able to harmonize the House and Senate versions in time for ratification and enactment into law by Malacañan before this year ends.

The proposed 2007 budget contains several new items, which would address the long overdue investments in infrastructure, education and health, and other social services. The budget also tries to put flesh into the so-called “super regions” strategy for economic development in the remaining term of the Arroyo administration.

Of the P 1.126 trillion proposed expenditure program for 2007, only about 22 % or P 248 billion is subject to debate while the other 78 percent or P878 billion represents mandatory expenses beyond Congress’ discretion.

These mandatory expenses consists of P 357 billion for personal services, P 184 billion for Internal Revenue Allotment, P 318 billion for interest payments and about P 19 billion for other mandatory expenditures. The balance of 22 %, will support the regular operations or maintenance and other operating expense (MOOE) of the various agencies of government leveling at about P 140 billion and about P 108 billion for capital outlays.

Of the P 108 billion, some P 84 billion will be earmarked for investments in infrastructure development, and about P 24 billion for the acquisition of needed basic office equipment.

Senate Passes 14 Bills this 3rd Session

The Senate has managed to pass on Third Reading, before going on recess, 14 October 2006 three more national bills and one local bill. These are:

• House Bill (HB) 5742, Amending Section 110(b) of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) of 1997 on Input VAT;
• Senate Bill (SB) 2226, Biofuels Act of 2006;
• SB 2231, Automated Election System Act of 2006; and
• HB 5500, Converting the Municipality of Navotas into a City.

HB 5742 or the VAT Amendment Bill amends Section 110 of the National Internal Revenue Code of 1997, particularly the 70% cap on creditable input VAT. It will plug the loopholes used by companies in underpaying or not paying certain taxes.

SB 2226 or the Biofuels Act, upon implementation will require registered vehicle owners to use two kinds of biofuel: bioethanol from sugarcane (as an additive to gasoline) and biodiesel from coconuts (as an additive to diesel). The Biofuels Act, once implemented will benefit not only vehicle owners but over the long term, the environment, because it will mandate the use of fuels from indigenous and renewable sources. It will bring down the pollution level, not to mention energy utilization. It will also help the agricultural sector.

After almost a year of deliberations, the Senate, voting 13 to 0, approved on third and final Reading SB 2231 which would allow the Comelec to use an Automated Electoral System (AES) in 2007 and in subsequent electoral exercises. The Senate bill provides for a partial implementation of the AES in 2007, that is, limited to six pilot provinces and six highly urbanized cities in Luzon, the Visayas and Mindanao to be determined by the Comelec. By 2010, the AES would be implemented nationwide. An oversight committee—composed of three representatives each from the Senate, the House of Representatives, and the Comelec—will review the law every 12 months from the last election for further refinement or adjustment. The pilot testing of the automated election system next year is estimated to cost P 1.4 billion. Among others, the bill mandates that the AES should be “technology neutral,” meaning it would use the most suitable technology presently available for the system to allow for flexibility in upgrading it as technology advances. Under the AES , the results would be transmitted immediately to the concerned parties, including the Comelec, the political parties, media, citizen watchdog, to remove the element of delay that cheaters have exploited in the past. But the AES would still produce paper-based record of the votes, or voter-verified paper audit trails, as a means to check the veracity of the summary of results transmitted, if necessary.

The four recently passed bills bring to 14 the number of bills passed in the Senate since Manuel Villar assumed the post as Senate President on 24 July . The others were the:

• P 46.4-billion supplemental budget;
• The P 500-million standby fund for the repatriation of the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) trapped in Lebanon war;
• House Bill (HB) No. 3315 or the Human Rights Victims Compensation Act;
• Charter of the province of Zamboanga Sibugay (HB 1299);
• Two legislative districts in the province of Sultan Kudarat (HB 4192);
• Amendment to the cityhood charter of Sipalay (HB 4899);
• Cityhood of Meycauayan, Bulacan (HB 4937);
• Radio Maria Foundation, Inc. (HB 2478);
• The creation of the new province of Dinagat island in Surigao (HB 884); and
• Granting citizenship to Charles William Mosser (SB 1978/HB 643).