Case Digest (A.C. No. 10627)
Facts:
This case involves petitioners Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr., Sergio Tadeo, and Nelson Alcantara who challenged the constitutionality of the provisions of Republic Act No. 10147, the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2011, specifically the allocation of P21 billion for the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCTP) implemented by the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). The CCTP, also known as Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps), was initiated in 2007 as a poverty reduction strategy targeting the poorest households in selected areas. Key implementing guidelines were issued in 2008 through DSWD Administrative Order No. 16, outlining the roles of DSWD as lead agency and local government units (LGUs) as partners in delivering health, education, and welfare services conditional to cash grants.
The petitioners contended that the CCTP amounted to the recentralization of government functions that had already been devolved to LGUs under Section 17 of the Local Governm
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Case Digest (A.C. No. 10627)
Facts:
- Establishment and Implementation of Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCTP)
- In 2007, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) initiated a poverty reduction strategy targeting the poorest households, initially named "Ahon Pamilyang Pilipino," pre-piloted in selected municipalities and cities, including Sibagat and Esperanza in Agusan del Sur, Lopez Jaen and Bonifacio in Misamis Occidental, and the cities of Pasay and Caloocan.
- The project was funded initially with a PHP 50 million allocation via a Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) issued by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
- On July 16, 2008, DSWD issued Administrative Order No. 16, series of 2008, renaming the program as "Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program" (4Ps) with key objectives: improving preventive health care for pregnant women and young children, increasing school attendance, reducing child labor, improving nutrition, and encouraging parental participation.
- The program provided conditional cash grants to extremely poor households with selected priority areas identified by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NCSB). Eligible households received health and educational assistance totaling up to PHP 15,000 yearly, subject to compliance with specified human development conditionalities (e.g., prenatal care, health check-ups for children, school attendance).
- DSWD coordinated with other agencies including the Department of Education (DepEd), Department of Health (DOH), Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), and National Anti-Poverty Commission (NAPC), and involved local government units (LGUs) as partner agencies responsible for ensuring supply-side readiness, technical assistance, local coordination, reporting, and committee meetings.
- Memoranda of Agreement (MOA) were executed between DSWD and participating LGUs, defining their respective obligations for the five-year implementation phase of CCTP.
- Congressional Budget Allocations for CCTP
- Congress allocated funds for CCTP under the General Appropriations Act (GAA) as follows: PHP 298.55 million in 2008, PHP 5 billion in 2009, PHP 10 billion in 2010, and a significant increase to PHP 21.194 billion in 2011.
- Petitioners’ Challenge Before the Supreme Court
- Petitioners included former Senator Aquilino Pimentel Jr., and local government officials Sergio Tadeo and Nelson Alcantara.
- They challenged the constitutionality of the PHP 21 billion budget allocation under the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s CCTP for Fiscal Year 2011.
- Petitioners contended that the implementation of the CCTP by the DSWD amounted to a recentralization of government functions already devolved to LGUs pursuant to Section 17 of the Local Government Code and provisions of the 1987 Constitution on local autonomy (Article II, Section 25; Article X, Section 3).
- Specifically, they argued that the national government’s direct control over beneficiary selection, conditionalities, and program implementation usurped the autonomy of LGUs by denying them direct control and budget allocation for these social welfare services.
Issues:
- Whether the P21 billion budget allocation for the Conditional Cash Transfer Program (CCTP) under the Department of Social Welfare and Development in the General Appropriations Act (GAA) of 2011 violates the constitutional provisions on local autonomy—namely, Article II, Section 25, and Article X, Section 3 of the 1987 Constitution—in relation to Section 17 of the Local Government Code of 1991, by effecting a recentralization of government functions devolved to LGUs.
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)