Sources of Appropriations of the Annual Budget: 1) New general appropriations legislated by Congress for every budget year under

the General Appropriations Act (GAA); and 2) Existing appropriations previously authorized by Congress. Under the Constitution, Article VI, Section 29, no money can be withdrawn from the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law. What are the existing or continuing appropriations? Existing or continuing appropriations are those which have been previously enacted by Congress and which continue to remain valid as an appropriation authority for the expenditure of public funds. There are two type of existing appropriations : 1) continuing 2) automatic. Continuing appropriations refer to appropriations available to support obligations for a specified purpose or project, such as multi-year construction projects which require the incurrence of obligations even beyond the budget year. Examples of continuing appropriations are those from existing laws such as : RA 8150, otherwise known as the Public Works Act of 1995; and Republic Act No. 6657 and Republic Act 8532 which set funds specifically for the Agrarian Reform Program (ARP). Currently, appropriations for capital outlays and maintenance and other operating expenses are considered as continuing appropriations but only for a period of 2 years. Automatic appropriations, on the other hand, refer to appropriations programmed annually or for some other period prescribed by law, by virtue of outstanding legislation which does now require periodic action by Congress. Falling under this category are expenditures authorized under Presidential Decree (PD) 1967, RA 4860 and RA 245, as amended, for the servicing of domestic and foreign debts, Commonwealth Act 186 and RA 660, for the retirement and insurance premiums of government employees, PD 1177 and Executive Order 292, for net lending to government corporations, and PD 1234, for various special accounts and funds. Budgetary Procedures/ Budget Process Budgeting for the national government involves four (4) distinct processes or phases : 1. 2. 3. 4. Budget preparation Budget authorization Budget execution and operation/ Budget implementation Budget accountability.

While distinctly separate, these processes overlap in the implementation during a budget year. Budget preparation for the next budget year proceeds while government agencies are executing the budget for the current year and at the same time engaged in budget accountability and review of the past year's budget. Budget Preparation and Presentation This starts with the Budget Call and ends with the Presidents submission of the proposed budget to Congress. The Budget Call contains budget parameters (including macroeconomic and fiscal targets and agency budget ceilings) as set beforehand by the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC); and policy guidelines and procedures in the preparation and submission of agency budget proposals. Early Preparation Under the Aquino Administration, the DBM has established a new tradition of beginning the Budget Preparation phase earlier, to ensure that the National Budget is enacted on time. Under the new Budget Preparation Calendar, the Budget Call is issued in December (versus around April in the past); and the submission of the Presidents budget a day after the State of the Nation Address (in contrast to earlier practice where it is submitted during the late in the 30-day window that the Constitution prescribes). Bottom-Up Budgeting For the first time in history, the National Budget for 2013 will be prepared using a breakthrough bottom-up approach. As opposed to the conventional way of allocating resources from top to bottom, grassroots communities will be engaged in designing the National Budget. The Aquino government, through the Cabinet Cluster on Human Development and Poverty Reduction, has identified 300 to 400 of the poorest municipalities and will engage these in crafting community-level poverty reduction and empowerment plans. This initial salvo of bottom-up budgeting will focus on rural development programs and the conditional cash transfer program, and will thus involve DA, DAR, DENR, DSWD, DepEd and DoH. These agencies will then include the community plans in their proposed budgets. Budget Authorization Alternatively called the budget legislation phase, this starts upon the House Speakers receipt of the Presidents Budget and ends with the Presidents enactment of the General Appropriations Act. The House of Representatives, in plenary, assigns the Presidents Budget to the House Appropriations Committee. The Committee and its Sub-Committees then schedule and conduct hearings on the budgets of the departments and agencies and scrutinize their respective programs and projects. It then crafts the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

In plenary session, the GAB is sponsored, presented and defended by the Appropriations Committee and Sub-Committee Chairmen. As in all other laws, the GAB is approved on Second and Third Reading before transmission to the Senate Reenacted Budgets When the GAA is not enacted before the fiscal year starts, the previous years GAA is automatically reenacted. This means that agency budgets for programs, activities and projects remain the same. Funding for programs or projects that have already been terminated is realigned for other expenditures. Because reenactments are tedious and prone to abuse, the Aquino Administrationwith the support of Congresshas committed to ensure the timely enactment of a new GAA every year.

Q & A: 1. It refers to appropriations available to support obligations for a specified purpose or project. a.) Automatic Appropriations b.) Continuing Appropriations c.) Reviewing Appropriations d.) None of the above ANSWER: B 2. It refers to appropriations programmed annually or for some other period prescribed by law, by virtue of outstanding legislation which does now require periodic action by Congress. a.) Automatic Appropriations b.) Continuing Appropriations c.) Reviewing Appropriations d.) None of the above ANSWER: A 3. This starts with the Budget Call and ends with the Presidents submission of the proposed budget to Congress. a.) Budget Authorization b.) Budget Accountability c.) Budget Preparation and Presentation d.) Budget Legislation ANSWER: C

4. This starts upon the House Speakers receipt of the Presidents Budget and ends with the Presidents enactment of the General Appropriations Act. a.) Budget Legislation b.) Budget Authorization c.) Budget Accountability d.) Both a and b ANSWER: D 5. It is issued by the DBM to all government agencies, in the form of Budget Memorandum. a.) Budget Text b.) Budget Call c.) Budget Watch d.) None of the above ANSWER: B