By MARIO B. CASAYURAN
Senator Manuel B. Villar Jr., chairman of the Senate finance committee, advised yesterday members of the Senate and the House of Representatives to ensure that the measures they are seeking to be passed by Congress have available funds lest they would be sent to dust-covered libraries when enacted into laws because they are not funded.
"We should not keep on passing laws that have no corresponding funding. Unfunded laws are like empty promises to the people. These unfunded laws only raise the expenditure commitments to the government without the necessary revenue measures," Villar said.
Unfunded laws, according to Villar, are legislations enacted by Congress that do not specify where the funding for the implementation of the law will come from.
"Lest we forget, there is a gentleman’s agreement among us legislators to ensure that our proposed measures or legislations are do-able, meaning there are earmarked funds for them. Thus, they can be implemented since funds are available," Villar explained.
Unfunded laws, based on figures from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) as of November last year, have reached a total budgetary requirement of R51.25 billion or a 56.5 percent of the total budget this year.
These unfunded laws are broken down as follows: Republic Acts (RAs), R276 billion; executive orders (EOs), R20 billion; and capitalization and resolution of government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs), R236.5 billion.
