NUPL stands with Bayan Muna in challenging the unconstitutional budget process
The NUPL strongly supports this case and the broader campaign of Bayan Muna to uphold transparency and public accountability. At a time when ordinary Filipinos are struggling with poverty and inadequate public services, public funds must be used for genuine development, not for opaque and discretionary spending.
February 4, 2025
NUPL
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers is a nationwide voluntary association of human rights lawyers in the Philippines, committed to the defense, protection, and promotion of human rights, especially of the poor and the oppressed.

Today, the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) extends its full support to the petition filed by Bayan Muna Chairperson Neri Colmenares, Vice Chairperson Teddy Casiño, Executive Vice President Carlos Isagani Zarate, and former Bayan Muna Partylist Rep. Ferdinand Gaite. As they present their case before the Supreme Court during the oral arguments, they seek to nullify the unconstitutional insertion of ₱449.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations under the 2024 General Appropriations Act (GAA).

This legal battle is a critical stand against dangerous budgetary practices that violate constitutional safeguards for protecting public funds and ensuring accountability. The petition raises key issues that reflect serious abuses of discretion and overreach by both the Executive and Legislative branches:

  1. Unlawful presidential certification of urgency – The petitioners argue that the President’s certification of the 2024 budget as urgent lacked the constitutionally mandated basis of a public calamity or emergency, as required under Article VI, Section 26(2) of the 1987 Constitution. This unwarranted shortcut of the budget process undermined thorough legislative scrutiny and opened the door to abuses.
  2. Illegal increase of ₱449.5 Billion in unprogrammed funds – The Bicameral Conference Committee (BCC) inserted an additional ₱449.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations, ballooning the total from ₱281.9 billion to ₱731.4 billion. This move violated Article VI, Section 25(1) of the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from increasing the budget beyond the recommendations of the President.
  3. Unconstitutional budgetary insertions – The BCC inserted a provision allowing the release of unprogrammed funds through vague criteria, such as available GOCC balances, bypassing legislative deliberation and violating Congress’ constitutional duty to approve budget items through open and transparent processes.

These violations are not minor technicalities. Instead, they represent a fundamental breakdown of our constitutional order and pose a grave risk of corruption. As Bayan Muna has stressed, the unchecked manipulation of unprogrammed funds diverts critical resources away from essential services and programs that benefit the Filipino people.

The NUPL strongly supports this case and the broader campaign of Bayan Muna to uphold transparency and public accountability. At a time when ordinary Filipinos are struggling with poverty and inadequate public services, public funds must be used for genuine development, not for opaque and discretionary spending.

We call on all sectors of society to remain vigilant and ensure that public funds are protected from misuse. #

Photo by Kodao Productions

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On the criminal charges of grave threat against VP Sara Duterte

On the criminal charges of grave threat against VP Sara Duterte

The validity of Sara Duterte’s indictment for grave threat is being questioned in light of the Supreme Court ruling in Ombudsman v. Court of Appeals (G.R. No. 146486, March 4, 2005). According to the ruling, an “impeachable officer cannot be criminally prosecuted for the same offenses which constitute grounds for impeachment”. In applying such ruling in relation to the indictment of Sara Duterte, the following points should be considered:

TO ALL THOSE TAKING THE BAR EXAMINATIONS BEGINNING TODAY, we honor the long and difficult work that has brought you to this moment.

TO ALL THOSE TAKING THE BAR EXAMINATIONS BEGINNING TODAY, we honor the long and difficult work that has brought you to this moment.

Behind every examinee are years of study, sacrifice, doubt, discipline, and persistence. As you enter the examination rooms, we wish you the best of health, soundness of mind, steadiness under pressure, and resilience for the days ahead. May you find the clarity to draw upon what you have learned, the composure to meet each question as it comes, and the resolve to keep going through fatigue and uncertainty.

LUDICROUS!!!

LUDICROUS!!!

Using the perjured statements of military assets, the government alleged that the Cagayan Valley activists supplied rice to NPA rebels by burying the rice in the hinterlands of Cagayan. The military assets allegedly provided the information to locate the place where the rice were buried. These were excavated, and the rotten rice is being used as a basis to file the case for terrorist financing.

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