Friday, July 25, 2014

What ABAD and this administration want to tell Congress

The Senators may not know it, and even those who defend DAP probably know but kept this to themselves for fear of not partaking the trillion peso budget pie is this---the very institution where they belong has already been mocked and has lost power, all because of the DAP.

When Budget secretary Butch Abad appeared before the Senate, he gave them a briefing on how the Executive abrogated the law and arrogated the very powers of Congress to the Chief Executive.

The charter gave Congress the power of the purse, a power which they exercise as a form of "checks and balance". In essence, a democratic and republican government allows the Executive to propose programs and projects, which probably half of it were proposed by executive departments and another, by several other stakeholders, particularly legislators.

These projects are reflected in the proposed budget. This proposal goes to Congress for review. Hours and hours are spent, studying the budget which eventually turns into law as the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

Now what Abad told the Senators is that what the Executive does during the budget execution stage is simply skirt the "will" of Congress by arrogating the power to determine where the monies of the people's treasury goes to, by either scrapping several programs stated in the GAA or simply instructing agencies of government to "save monies" for these funds to convert themselves into "savings".

Meaning, those hours spent studying the proposed budget and turn it into a law are rendered useless. Why go thru this budgetary review process when eventually, billions of pesos are converted into "savings" which go to the Executive.

What these stupid legislators do not know that those funds are "powers" by themselves. When Congress allows this illicit practice, it loses power and gives it to the Executive, wittingly or unwittingly.

When this happens, there is an imbalance. Congress becomes a prostituted institution because many of its members would now report to the Chief Executive instead of the Speaker because the Speaker now is just a totem pole, or an honorary power compared to the Chief Executive who wields true power.


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