AN ACT

ABOLISHING THE PRESIDENTIAL AND CONGRESSIONAL PORK BARREL

SYSTEM, STRENGTHENING THE SYSTEM OF CHECKS AND BALANCES
OVER PUBLIC FUNDS, PROHIBITING CERTAIN
ACTS, AND PROVIDING PENALTIES THEREFOR


SECTION 1. Short TitleThis Act shall be known as An Act Abolishing the Pork
Barrel System.

SECTION 2. Declaration of State Policies and Principles. This act is a direct exercise
of sovereign power by the people of their authority to enact legislation reserved by the
Philippine Constitution.

The sovereign people affirm the need to establish a system of strict accountability over
the use of public funds to ensure that they are spent solely for functions, programs,
projects and activities that redound to the interest of the people, especially the poor and
marginalized sectors of Philippine society.

Recognizing that the pork barrel system is one of the main sources of graft and corruption
and of patronage politics, the State shall ensure that measures designed to eliminate the
rules and practices of the pork barrel system are in place and that the mechanisms of
checks and balances are strengthened.

SECTION 3. Definitions. For purposes of this Act, the following terms shall mean:

(a) Pork Barrel is a lump sum public fund assigned by law, regulation or practice with
sole discretion given to the President, legislator or group of legislators, or any public
officer. The exercise of discretion by public officers relates to the allocation, release or
use of these public funds, the identification or selection of projects, implementors or
beneficiaries, or any or a combination of or all of these.

(b) A lump sum appropriation is a single but divisible sum of money which serves as a
funding source for unspecified or multiple purposes and leaves the purposes of the
appropriation and their actual amounts for further determination after the enactment of
the appropriation law. Said appropriation is not itemized or does not specify the program,
activity or project or implementing government agency for which it is appropriated,
including the allotment class, beneficiaries, and other matters required to be disclosed by
government agencies in their budget estimates under existing law.

(c) I mpoundment is the act of not spending money appropriated by law. Impoundment
may be through rescission or cancellation of the appropriation, or deferral or suspension
of the release of the appropriated funds.

(d) National Official under this Act refers to the President, head of department or
national agency or his/her respective subordinate, agent, or authorized representative, and
any member of Congress.

(e) Savings refers to any available portion or balance in an appropriation item under the
law, which has become free from any obligation or encumbrance as a result of (i) the
completion or final discontinuance as certified by the President or abandonment, due to
fortuitous events, of the work, activity or purpose for which the appropriation is
authorized; or (ii) the non-payment of compensation and related costs as a result of
vacancies in positions and leaves of absence without pay; or (iii) the implementation of
measures resulting in improved systems and efficiencies that enabled government
agencies to meet and deliver the required or planned targets, programs and services
approved in an appropriation law at a lesser cost.

SECTION 4. General mandatory rules governing appropriations and disbursement of
public funds.

(a) All proposed budgets submitted to the Philippines Congress shall contain only
itemized or line-item appropriations, except appropriations for the purpose of disaster
response, contingency fund of not more than 5% of the budget for a specific item, and for
the intelligence/confidential funds of the National Security Council (NSC), the
Department of National Defense (DND) and the Department of Interior and Local
Government (DILG).

(b) The expenditures from allowable lump sums shall be reported immediately to
Congress by the government agency to which the sum has been appropriated and shall
always be subject to a special audit by the Commission on Audit.

(c) All unspent, unreleased, and unobligated funds of any government agency by the end
of the fiscal year shall remain in or revert to the General Fund and shall not thereafter be
available for expenditure except by a subsequent appropriation law; Provided, however,
that the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of Constitutional
Commissions may authorize their respective government agency or office to use the
savings realized by the agency or office from its regular budget during the fiscal year to
augment any existing appropriation item for the same agency or office under the general
appropriations act; Provided, further, that the augmentation may only be done during the
same fiscal year when the savings were realized; Provided, finally, that the power to
realign or use savings may not be delegated to other public officers.

SECTION 5. Appropriation of special funds. Within the fiscal year following the
approval of this Act, a report on the financial status of every account including but not
limited to the Malampaya fund, the Motor Vehicles Users Charges and other off-budget
items covered by a special law authorizing the continuous disbursement of funds for a
special purpose shall be submitted to Congress. Every fiscal year thereafter, the
President shall submit to Congress a proposed budget for the disbursement of the special
funds in accordance with their purpose as part of the National Expenditure Program.

SECTION 6. Abolition of the Presidential Social Fund. The share of the Government in
the aggregate gross earnings of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation
provided under Section 12 of Presidential Decree No. 1869 as amended by Presidential
Decree No. 1993 shall henceforth be remitted regularly to the National Treasury and may
be used only pursuant to a valid appropriation made by law. The discretionary authority
of the President granted under the aforesaid Section 12 to use the fund to finance the
restoration of damaged or destroyed facilities due to calamities is hereby revoked.

SECTION 7. Special Offenses. The penalty of imprisonment of six (6) years and one
day to ten (10) years and perpetual disqualification from public office shall be imposed
on the following persons for committing any of the following acts:

(a) Any national official who authorizes the spending of public money that is not covered
by or is in violation of any appropriation law;

(b) Any national official who, in violation of Section 4 (a), includes a lump sum amount
in any budget proposal submitted to Congress, or any member of Congress who approves
the inclusion of any lump sum amount in the general or supplemental appropriations acts;
Provided, that the appropriation of lump sums for the purpose of disaster response, a
contingency fund of not more than 5% of the budget for a specific item, and for the
intelligence fund of the NSC, DND and DILG shall not be covered by this prohibition;

(c) Any national official who inserts in an appropriation bill provisions allowing post-
enactment intervention by a member or members of Congress in the implementation of
the appropriation measure;

(d) Any member of Congress, or his agent or representative, who directly or indirectly
intervenes or participates in the implementation of any appropriation law through any
post-enactment act or practice, including but not limited to identification or endorsement
of projects, beneficiaries or contractors, or assuming authority or exercising influence in
the release, allocation or realignment of appropriated funds;

(e) Any national official who declares and utilizes savings outside of the cases provided
in Section 3(e) hereof, or realigns the improperly declared savings;

(f) Any national official who impounds any appropriation or portion thereof by retention,
reduction, rescission or deferral or suspension of release of funds, or any other means, for
whatever reason or purpose, unless there is an official declaration by the President of an
unmanageable National Government budget deficit.

(g) Any person including a private individual who persuades, induces, influences or
cooperates with any national official in violating any of the provisions of this Act shall
suffer the same penalty.

The above penalties shall be in addition to the criminal, civil and administrative liabilities
that the national official or private individual may incur under existing laws.

SECTION 8. Diligence required; presumption. All public officers involved in the
approval, release and disbursement of funds shall exercise extraordinary diligence in the
performance of their functions. When an anomalous transaction is duly proved, the public
officer responsible for the approval, release or disbursement of funds shall be presumed
to have knowledge of the anomalous transaction.

SECTION 9. Repealing clause. Any law, presidential decree, executive order, rule or
regulation, or any issuance contrary to or inconsistent with the provisions of this Act,
including Section 12 of PD 1869 as amended by PD 1993, is hereby repealed, modified
or amended accordingly.

SEC. 10. Amendment or repeal of this Act. This Act may only be repealed, modified or
amended by a law that has been approved by the people under the system of initiative and
referendum enshrined in the 1987 Constitution.

Effectivity Clause. This law shall become effective after fifteen (15) days following the
completion of its publication in two newspapers of general circulation by the
Commission on Elections.

Enacted this ____ day of ___________________________, through the system of
Peoples Initiative.