BUDGETNGBAYAN / BUDGET-101 / BUDGET-LEGISLATION

Budget Legislation

Alternatively called the budget authorization phase, this starts upon the House Speakers
receipt of the Presidents Budget and ends with the

Presidents enactment of the General Appropriations Act.

1. House Deliberations

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. (Note: In the First Reading, the
Presidents Budget is assigned to the Appropriations Committee.)

2. Senate Deliberations

As in the House process, the Senate conducts its own committee hearings and plenary
deliberations on the GAB. Budget deliberations in the Senate formally start after the House
of Representatives transmits the GAB. For expediency, however, the Senate Finance
Committee and Sub-Committees usually start hearings on the GAB even as House
deliberations are ongoing.

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The Committee submits its proposed amendments to the GAB to plenary only after it has
been formally transmitted by the House.

3. Bicameral Deliberations

Once both Houses of Congress have finished their deliberations, they will each
constitute a panel to the Bicameral Conference Committee. This committee will then
discuss and harmonize the conflicting provisions of the House and Senate Versions of
the GAB. A Harmonized Version of the GAB is thus produced.

4. Ratification and Enrollment

The Harmonized or Bicam Version is then submitted to both Houses, which will then
vote to ratify the final GAB for submission to the President. Once submitted to the
President for his approval, the GAB is considered enrolled.

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5. The Veto Message

The President and DBM then review the GAB and prepare a Veto Message,
where budget items subjected to direct veto or conditional implementation are
identified, and where general observations are made. Under the Constitution,
the GAB is the only legislative measure where the President can impose a line veto (in all other cases, a law is either approved or vetoed in full).

6. Enactment

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.

7. 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,

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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.

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