MANILA— Malacañang has directed the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to seek a reconsideration of the Supreme Court’s ruling on unprogrammed appropriations in the 2024, 2025 and 2026 national budgets, saying the decision imposes restrictions beyond those established by Congress.

Palace Press Officer Claire Castro said that the administration respects the high court’s position that unprogrammed appropriations are not inherently unconstitutional but disagrees with conditions governing their release.

“Magalang nating hinihiling sa Korte Suprema na muling suriin ang kanilang desisyon. Ipinag-utos na rin po sa Office of the Solicitor General na magsampa po ng motion for reconsideration (We respectfully ask the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision. The Office of the Solicitor General has also been directed to file a motion for reconsideration),” Castro said during a Palace briefing.

She argued that the court’s requirements could effectively prevent the government from using unprogrammed appropriations for public programs.

“Sa ating pananaw, pinanatili nito ang mekanismo sa papel ngunit ang pagtatakda ng kondisyong lagpas sa mga kondisyong inilatag ng Kongreso simula 2015 ay hindi lang magpapahirap nang husto sa paggamit nito. Ginawa nitong inutil at hindi na magagamit ang mekanismong ito para sa mga programa ng pamahalaan,” she said.

Castro said the administration had followed existing budget practices that allowed the release of unprogrammed funds when collections exceeded targets from at least one specified non-tax revenue source, subject to other legal requirements.

She maintained that the Supreme Court’s requirement for aggregate revenue collections to exceed overall revenue targets before the funds could be released went beyond the conditions established by Congress.

The Palace also cited the 2013 Supreme Court decision in Araullo v. Aquino, arguing that conditions found in previous budget laws were not made permanent constitutional requirements.

“Ang posisyon natin ay binigyang-kahulugan ng Araullo vs. Aquino ang mga naunang budget law. Hindi ito ginawang permanenteng utos ng Konstitusyon ang mga kondisyon sa mga batas na iyon,” Castro said.

“Maaaring baguhin ng Kongreso ang mga kondisyon basta nasa loob ng Konstitusyon,” she added.

The Supreme Court ruled against provisions involving unprogrammed appropriations and increases in the 2024 and 2025 General Appropriations Acts, while also invalidating key provisions governing the release of unprogrammed funds under the 2026 budget.

The high court said unprogrammed appropriations must have clear limits and safeguards to ensure fiscal discipline, transparency and accountability.

“They become constitutionally infirm when they lack sufficient standards, effectively granting the Executive unchecked spending authority that weakens fiscal discipline and undermines funding for programmed projects when estimated government revenues are not realized,” the court said.

Asked whether President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. should be held accountable for signing budgets containing provisions challenged by the court, Castro said the administration saw no basis for liability because it had acted in accordance with existing laws.

“Wala tayong nakikitang anumang maaaring maging pananagutan ng Pangulo kung siya naman din ay tumutupad lamang sa batas (We see no basis for holding the President accountable if he was merely complying with the law),” she said.

Castro declined to comment on a separate opinion by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, who described unprogrammed appropriations as vulnerable to graft and corruption, saying the administration would base its appeal on the court’s actual ruling.

She also assured the public that the government would continue accounting for its expenditures and that the use of public funds should not be treated as confidential.

“Ganoon naman po ang obligasyon ng gobyerno, ganiyan ang obligasyon ng bawat public official – i-account ang lahat nang nagastos. Hindi po ito confidential para hindi isapubliko (That is the government’s obligation, and the obligation of every public official — to account for all expenditures. These are not confidential matters that should be withheld from the public),” she said.

Castro added that the administration would continue implementing the 2026 national budget while awaiting the Supreme Court’s final action on the matter.

“Lahat ng ginagawa ng administrasyon ay naaayon naman sa batas,” she said.

“Kung ano ang magiging huling desisyon ng Supreme Court, igagalang po,” she added.