QuestionsQuestions (Republic Act No. 11357)
To require that a reserve of 5% be set up from the 1937 General Appropriations authorized under Commonwealth Act No. 38, as a safeguard against possible shortfalls in estimated income.
Five percent (5%) of the appropriations for the year 1937.
From the appropriations for the various Executive Departments of the National Government and their respective Bureaus, offices, and dependencies.
Section 21 of Commonwealth Act No. 38, the General Appropriations Act for 1937.
Because early collection reports indicated actual 1937 collections might fall below estimated income, and certain laws appropriating large amounts for urgent needs had depleted the accumulated surplus.
It states it was issued by virtue of powers vested in the President by the Constitution and existing laws, and pursuant to Section 21 of Commonwealth Act No. 38.
It states that the general appropriations for 1937 were made based on estimated income for that year.
Daily reports of collections during the first half of January 1937 suggested a possibility that actual collections for 1937 may be lower than estimated.
It is broader: it applies to the appropriations of various Executive Departments and their respective bureaus, offices, and dependencies.
It states that requiring the usual reserve will help insure stability of the Government’s balanced budgets.
It illustrates an early statutory/administrative mechanism for fiscal prudence—setting aside a portion of appropriations as a contingency when revenue performance may be weaker than projected.
It was signed by Manuel L. Quezon, President of the Philippines, and in the byline, Elpidio Quirino is listed as Secretary of the Interior.
It implies the President’s action is authorized and limited by a specific statutory grant of authority in the General Appropriations Act.
They should ask whether the reserve restricts immediate availability of funds and how it affects release, obligation, or disbursement within the fiscal year when revenues are uncertain.
Laws appropriating large amounts of funds for urgent and vital public needs, in addition to ordinary expenses appropriations.