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Demetria Vs Alba

The Supreme Court ruled Presidential Decree 1177, also known as the Budget Reform Decree of 1977, unconstitutional. The decree allowed the President to transfer funds appropriated to different government departments and agencies to any program or project of any department included in the General Appropriations Act. However, the 1973 Constitution only permitted the President and other officials to augment appropriations using savings from other items within their department. The court found Presidential Decree 1177 overextended this power by allowing arbitrary transfers across departments without regard to actual savings.

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70 views1 page

Demetria Vs Alba

The Supreme Court ruled Presidential Decree 1177, also known as the Budget Reform Decree of 1977, unconstitutional. The decree allowed the President to transfer funds appropriated to different government departments and agencies to any program or project of any department included in the General Appropriations Act. However, the 1973 Constitution only permitted the President and other officials to augment appropriations using savings from other items within their department. The court found Presidential Decree 1177 overextended this power by allowing arbitrary transfers across departments without regard to actual savings.

Uploaded by

Dawn Jessa Go
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Demetria vs Alba

GR No. 71977
27 February 1987

148 SCRA 208 – Political Law – Transfer of Funds – Power of the President to
Realign Funds
 Article VI, Section 25, paragraph 5 of 1987 constitution (Article VIII,
Section 16, paragraph 5 of 1973 constitution)
 Procedure: prohibition with prayer for a writ of preliminary injunction

Facts:
Demetrio Demetria and others, as taxpayers and members of the Batasan
Pambansa, sought to prohibit Manuel Alba, then Minister of the Budget, from
disbursing funds pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 1177, known as “Budget
Reform Decree of 1977.” Demetria assailed the constitutionality of paragraph
1, Section 44 of the said PD.
PD Section 44 (1)- “The President shall have the authority to transfer any fund,
appropriated for the different departments, bureaus, offices and agencies of the
Executive Department, which are included in the General Appropriations Act, to
any program, project or activity of any department, bureau, or office included in
the General Appropriations Act or approved after its enactment.”

Issue: Whether or not the law on Budget Reform Decree of 1977 is


constitutional, considering that petitioner’s contention that it does not coincide
with the constitutional provision, and considering further the petitioner’s
contention that the provision under consideration was enacted pursuant to
Section 16[5], Article VIII of the 1973 Constitution.
Held:
No, the law is unconstitutional.
Pursuant to the 1973 Constitution, Article VIII, Section 16 (5) provides
that, ”No law shall be passed authorizing any transfer of appropriations,
however, the President, the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the Chief Justice of
the Supreme Court, and the heads of constitutional commissions may by law
be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their
respective offices from savings in other items of their respective
appropriations.”
In this case, the law enacted overextends to the privilege granted under the
fundamental law, by empowering the President to randomly appropriate funds
from one department of the Executive to any program of any departments
included in the General Appropriations Act, without regard as to whether or not
the funds to be transferred are actually savings in the item from which the same
are to be taken, or whether or not the transfer is for the purpose of augmenting
the item to which said transfer is to be made.

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