The Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional ₱480.24 billion in congressional budget increases under the 2024, 2025 and 2026 national budgets, all passed during former House Speaker Martin Romualdez’s leadership.
In a decision released on Oct. 20, the Supreme Court En Banc found that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority by increasing appropriations beyond the amounts recommended by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
The largest violation involved ₱449.5 billion in additional unprogrammed appropriations under the 2024 General Appropriations Act. Congress increased the allocation from approximately ₱281.9 billion to ₱731.4 billion, expanding the government’s spending authorization beyond the President’s proposed budget.
For 2025, the Court identified another ₱17.99 billion increase in the Department of Public Works and Highways’ Special Road Fund. It also found that ₱12.75 billion in additional allocations to certain government agencies’ Special Accounts in the General Fund violated restrictions under the Administrative Code.
Together, these unconstitutional adjustments totaled ₱480.24 billion—2.54% of the country’s total budget from 2024–2026.
The budgets had drawn widespread condemnation from political figures across party lines and opposing political camps, with many describing them as the most mangled and corruption-ridden national budgets in Philippine history. The controversy centered on massive congressional insertions, questionable spending priorities, and the handling of billions of pesos in public funds.
The ruling also established that officials responsible for unconstitutional budget provisions are not automatically protected from accountability. Authors, proponents, and implementers may face criminal, civil, or administrative liability unless the proper tribunals determine that they acted in good faith.
Romualdez is detained in connection with a ₱7.44 billion plunder case involving projects financed under the GAAs from 2022 to 2025. Prosecutors accuse him of participating in a congressional kickback scheme tied to flood control and other government infrastructure projects. Romualdez has pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The Supreme Court’s decision also lends greater constitutional weight to concerns about the budget-making process at the center of the Ombudsman’s ₱7.44-billion plunder case against Romualdez. It also reinforces the significance of the objections raised by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and Cavite Rep. Kiko Barzaga, who challenged questionable budget insertions, spending irregularities and alleged corruption in Congress. Their earlier warnings now stand alongside a Supreme Court ruling confirming that major budget increases approved during Romualdez’s House leadership violated constitutional limits.
