Belgica V Ochoa

BELGICA VS OCHOA, JR.
GR 208566 November 19, 2013
DOCTRINE: No money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.
FACTS:
The so-called pork barrel system has been around in the Philippines since about 1922. Pork Barrel is commonly
known as the lump-sum, discretionary funds of the members of the Congress. It underwent several legal
designations from “Congressional Pork Barrel” to the latest “Priority Development Assistance Fund” or PDAF.
The allocation for the pork barrel is integrated in the annual General Appropriations Act(GAA). The PDAF
articles in the GAA do provide for realignment of funds whereby certain cabinet members may request for the
realignment of funds into their department provided that the request for realignment is approved or
concurred by the legislator concerned.
Pork barrel system has been besieged by allegations of corruption ever since. In July 2013, Janet Lim Napoles
was exposed by Benhur Luy along with six whistle blowers as part of the corruption in the pork barrel system.
Napoles had been helping lawmakers in funneling their pork barrel funds into about 20 bogus NGO’s (non-
government organizations) which would make it appear that government funds are being used in legit existing
projects but are in fact going to “ghost” projects. An audit was then conducted by the Commission on Audit
and the results thereof concurred with the exposes of Luy et al. Motivated by this incident, Greco Belgica and
several others, filed various petitions before the Supreme Court questioning the constitutionality of the pork
barrel system.
ISSUE/S:
I. Is the congressional pork barrel system constitutional?
HELD:
I. No, the congressional pork barrel system is unconstitutional. It is unconstitutional because it violates the
following principles:
a. Separation of Powers
As a rule, the budgeting power lies in Congress. It regulates the release of funds (power of the purse).
The executive, on the other hand, implements the laws – this includes the GAA to which the PDAF is a part of.
This is also highlighted by the fact that in realigning the PDAF, the executive will still have to get the
concurrence of the legislator concerned.
b. Non-delegability of Legislative Power
In particular, Section 1, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution states that such power shall be vested in the
Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the
extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum. Based on this provision, it is clear
that only Congress, acting as a bicameral body, and the people, through the process of initiative and
referendum , may constitutionally wield legislative power and no other.
c. Principle of Checks and Balances
One feature in the principle of checks and balances is the power of the president to veto items in the
GAA which he may deem to be inappropriate. But this power is already being undermined because of the fact
that once the GAA is approved, the legislator can now identify the project to which he will appropriate his
PDAF. Under such system, how can the president veto the appropriation made by the legislator if the
appropriation is made after the approval of the GAA – again, “Congress cannot choose a mode of budgeting
which effectively renders the constitutionally-given power of the President useless.”
d. Local Autonomy
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As a rule, the local governments have the power to manage their local affairs. Through their Local
Development Councils (LDCs), the LGUs can develop their own programs and policies concerning their
localities. But with the PDAF, particularly on the part of the members of the house of representatives, what’s
happening is that a congressman can either bypass or duplicate a project by the LDC and later on claim it as
his own. This is an instance where the national government (note, a congressman is a national officer)
meddles with the affairs of the local government – and this is contrary to the State policy embodied in the
Constitution on local autonomy. It’s good if that’s all that is happening under the pork barrel system but
worse, the PDAF becomes more of a personal fund on the part of legislators.
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BELGICA VS OCHOA, JR.

GR 208566 November 19, 2013

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