Marcos vetoes 2 items in 2024 budget

MANILA, Philippines — President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. vetoed two budget provisions for 2024 that are related to the Department of Justice’s proposed revolving fund and the implementation of the government's career executive service program.

The president took out the section establishing a “DOJ Revolving Fund” and removed the section related to the implementation of the National Government's Career Executive Service Development Program (NGCESDP), according to a release by the Presidential Communications Office on Friday.

Marcos vetoed the provision on the DOJ revolving fund under the Office of the Secretary as  "there is no law which authorizes the DOJ to establish a revolving fund for the purpose indicated therein," according to a letter sent by Marcos to House Speaker Martin Romualdez on December 20. 

Marcos said that the DOJ revolving fund would be sourced from fees collected from the filing of petitions as well as complaints and affidavits with the National Prosecutive Service, which are "clearly not from business-type activities.” 

“Such pleadings are filed with the said agencies by virtue of their jurisdiction vested by law,” Marcos added.

According to the general provision on revolving funds in the General Appropriations Act, revolving funds are required to be derived from "business-type activities of agencies to be utilized for the operational expenses of such business-type activities," the PCO release stated.

Marcos also cited a Supreme Court pronouncement that declared “inappropriate provisions” as “unconstitutional provisions and provisions which are intended to amend other laws… because clearly these kind[s] of laws have no place in an appropriations bill.”

Marcos also veteod a second budget item — the section on the implementation of the NGCESDP under the General Provisions of the national budget.

The president said that he rejected the section because it “does not relate to any particular appropriation in this budget.”

He noted that the Career Executive Service Board and the Development Academy of the Philippines have been declared under Philippine laws to be responsible for the management of a “CES program appropriate and necessary for the organization and operation of the CES.”

The president has the power to veto or set conditions for the implementation of certain items in the enacted national budget but cannot add new items or bring back items already removed by Congress.

Marcos signed the P5.768-trillion national budget for 2024 on Wednesday, a spending plan 9.5% higher than last year with significant bumps in allocations for defense and peace and order.