Section 25, Paragraph 7 of Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides:
(7) If, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress.
In the 1998 Philippine Bar Exam, the following question was asked:
Suppose the President submits a budget which does not contain provisions for CDF (Countrwide Development Funds), popularly known as the pork barrel, and because of this Congress does not pass the budget.
Will that mean paralization of government operations in the next fiscal year for lack of an appropriation law?
SUGGESTED ANSWER FROM UP: No, the failure of Congress to pass the budget will not paralyze the operations of the Government. Section 25(7), Article VI of the Constitution provides: "If, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress.
However, this is NOT just another provision. It is actually a provision that we Filipinos must be proud of somehow considering that this same provision is not present with that of the United States.
If you are into international news, you may have heard of the looming government shutdown which is possible to happen within 24 hours as of the time I am writing this piece. When I first heard this from the news, the one thing that caught my attention is that the Smithsonian museums, which are free to the public, will be closed. Thousands of tourists are visiting Washington, DC during the spring break and they may likely be welcomed with this government shutdown.
So, I tried to understand what this government shutdown is all about. About.com provides that a government shutdown is a result of the failure of Congress to enact an annual federal budget within the timeframe established by law. The U.S. Constitution requires that all expenditures of federal funds be authorized by Congress with the approval of the President of the United States.
There have been 5 US government shutdowns since 1981. There was a US government shutdown in 1981, 1984, 1990, 1995 and 1996.
A government shutdown will definitely cost taxpayers since they will be paying for federal workers who will not be reporting for work. Government will not be able to process social security and healthcare transactions, among others. And, national parks will be closed.
When I found out what it is all about, the Automatic Reappropriation Law (Section 25, Paragraph 7, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution). I guess that's one of the things we, Filipinos, have to be grateful to the framers of our Constitution. It may sound such a simple provision but indeed has a great impact.
Of course, I am not saying I know a lot about this government shutdown and how different it is from the Philippines. This is just an opinion on my part based on what I have understood so far.
With that somehow being taken care of and considering that we won't be encountering a government shutdown, our government still has to deal with a gamut of obstacles to hurdle and problems to solve. And that's another story!
(7) If, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress.
In the 1998 Philippine Bar Exam, the following question was asked:
Suppose the President submits a budget which does not contain provisions for CDF (Countrwide Development Funds), popularly known as the pork barrel, and because of this Congress does not pass the budget.
Will that mean paralization of government operations in the next fiscal year for lack of an appropriation law?
SUGGESTED ANSWER FROM UP: No, the failure of Congress to pass the budget will not paralyze the operations of the Government. Section 25(7), Article VI of the Constitution provides: "If, by the end of any fiscal year, the Congress shall have failed to pass the general appropriations bill for the ensuing fiscal year, the general appropriations law for the preceding fiscal year shall be deemed reenacted and shall remain in force and effect until the general appropriations bill is passed by the Congress.
To many, this may seem just an ordinary provision under our Constitution. To those who are studying law or who have studied law, this may be just another provision to understand just in case it would be asked in the bar.
However, this is NOT just another provision. It is actually a provision that we Filipinos must be proud of somehow considering that this same provision is not present with that of the United States.
If you are into international news, you may have heard of the looming government shutdown which is possible to happen within 24 hours as of the time I am writing this piece. When I first heard this from the news, the one thing that caught my attention is that the Smithsonian museums, which are free to the public, will be closed. Thousands of tourists are visiting Washington, DC during the spring break and they may likely be welcomed with this government shutdown.
So, I tried to understand what this government shutdown is all about. About.com provides that a government shutdown is a result of the failure of Congress to enact an annual federal budget within the timeframe established by law. The U.S. Constitution requires that all expenditures of federal funds be authorized by Congress with the approval of the President of the United States.
There have been 5 US government shutdowns since 1981. There was a US government shutdown in 1981, 1984, 1990, 1995 and 1996.
A government shutdown will definitely cost taxpayers since they will be paying for federal workers who will not be reporting for work. Government will not be able to process social security and healthcare transactions, among others. And, national parks will be closed.
When I found out what it is all about, the Automatic Reappropriation Law (Section 25, Paragraph 7, Article VI of the 1987 Philippine Constitution). I guess that's one of the things we, Filipinos, have to be grateful to the framers of our Constitution. It may sound such a simple provision but indeed has a great impact.
Of course, I am not saying I know a lot about this government shutdown and how different it is from the Philippines. This is just an opinion on my part based on what I have understood so far.
With that somehow being taken care of and considering that we won't be encountering a government shutdown, our government still has to deal with a gamut of obstacles to hurdle and problems to solve. And that's another story!
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