Presidential frontrunner Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III expressed confidence that the executive branch has enough powers even without the authority of the President to impound the pork barrel against lawmakers opposed to the administration.

Aquino was referring to Section 67 of the General Appropriations Act of 2010 which prohibits the impoundment of appropriations and prevents the President from blocking any pork barrel allocation without the approval of the two chambers of Congress.

“I’m confident that the executive has enough powers. There is a law which states that the power of the executive branch could not be clipped by another branch of government because all three are co-equal,” the senator from Tarlac said.

Aquino said he still has sufficient control of how much and who gets the allocations through his executive discretion.

“My obligation is to identify the funds earmarked for particular districts and that it will go there directly,” Aquino said.

Aquino said he still believes that what Congress appropriates, the President must not impound or withhold.

“What I am advocating for is a supportive and not a confrontational stance between government branches,” Aquino went on.

“I am consistent with the idea that a congressman’s constituents should not suffer, because all of us are Filipinos,” Aquino told reporters last Friday as he pointed out that he was the first senator who filed a bill with the same purpose.

Senate Bill No. 3121 or the Budget Impoundment Control Act was consolidated with other Senate measures and consequently, Congress passed the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2010 that included this anti-impoundment provision.

The provision was aimed to “limit executive influence over specific appropriations in the GAA.’’

Aquino said in his measure that the refusal of the President to release funds appropriated by Congress had been “misused and abused and has emasculated Congress’s authority to check the President’s discretionary powers to spend public funds.’’

“In effect, the President seems to have a vast and unbridled control over the national budget,’’ Aquino said in the bill he passed.

Philippine congressmen are allocated P70 million ($1.5 million) a year of government funding –known locally as their “pork barrel” – for projects of their choice.

It was said that President Arroyo used this tactic to gain control of the House because of its power to dispense favors, especially pork barrel.