IS the controversial ‘unprogrammed fund’ (UF) in the national budget unconstitutional? This is being raised by the Center for National Budget (CNB) through budget specialist then Jagna town municipal mayor Joseph Ranola in his fb post recently.
This surfaced following the seemed-to-be unending issue of flood control anomaly. The controversy arose from flood control projects showing a documented unfinished, sub-standard works and, worse, ghost projects of flood control projects in the country.
Ranola gave an independent and in-depth analysis of the unprogrammed fund involving amendment or insertions into General Appropriations Act (GAA) allegedly by the bi-cameral committee composed of select members of the House of Representative and the Senate.
Ranola refers ‘unprogrammed fund’ to a “a budget appropriations that are not yet supported by corresponding resources in the GAA. This largely relies on a “standby appropriations which authorize additional agency expenditures in excess of the original budget.”
‘Unprogrammed fund’ “shall be implemented only when revenue collections exceed the resource targets assumed in the budget, or when additional foreign project loan proceeds are realized.”
He said that the breakdown of the GAA are as follows: The Regular budget, the special purpose fund and the automatic appropriations. ‘Unprogrammed Fund’ is under the special purpose fund, which is subject to the approval by the President.
Ranola showed in his one of the gatherings and lectured how the ‘unprogrammed fund’ is being determined or budgeted. In 2026, the UF is amounted to P249.9 billion as proposed by National Expenditure Program (NEP), then it became P243.4 billion under GAA, or a difference of (P6.5 billion).
The UA has increased in 2024 and it decline this year: Year 2000 – P21 billion; 2010 – P111 billion; 2020 – P216 billion; 2022 – P251 billion; 2023 – P812 billion; 2024 – P731 billion; 2025 – P531 billion; and 2026 – P243 billion.
The NEP is submitted by the Office of the President thru the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), while GAA is the final law as a result of the approval by the President.
In 2025, P158 billion under NEP and P531.6 billion under GAA, difference of P373 billion. In 2024, P281.9 billion under NEP and P731.4 billion under GAA, or difference of PP449.5 billion. The NEP in 2023 was P588. Billion and GAA’s P807.1 billion, or an increase of P219 billion. And the NEP in 2022 was P151.6 billion and GAA’s P251.6 billion, or a hike of P100 billion.
Ranola pins high hopes that the Supreme Court finally resolve if indeed UF is unconstitutional, like the Development Appropriation Program and the infamous Priority Development Appropriation Fund (PDAF, also refers to pork barrel fund. (Ric Obedencio)
