GRECO ANTONIOUS BEDA B. BELGICA JOSE M. VILLEGAS JR. JOSE L. GONZALEZ REUBEN M. ABANTE and QUINTIN PAREDES SAN DIEGO, Petitioners,

vs.

HONORABLE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY PAQUITO N. OCHOA JR. SECRETARY OF BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT FLORENCIO B. ABAD, NATIONAL TREASURER ROSALIA V. DE LEON SENATE OF THE PHILIPPINES represented by FRANKLIN M. DRILON m his capacity as SENATE PRESIDENT and HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES represented by FELICIANO S. BELMONTE, JR. in his capacity as SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE, Respondents.

G.R. No. 208566

November 19, 2013

Facts:

"Pork Barrel" refers to an appropriation of government spending meant for localized projects and secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. Some scholars on the subject further use it to refer to legislative control of local appropriations.

2004, several concerned citizens sought the nullification of the PDAF as enacted in the 2004 GAA for being unconstitutional. Unfortunately, for lack of "any pertinent evidentiary support that illegal misuse of PDAF in the form of kickbacks has become a common exercise of unscrupulous Members of Congress," the petition was dismissed.

July 2013, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) began its probe into allegations that "the government has been defrauded of some P10 Billion over the past 10 years by a syndicate using funds from the pork barrel of lawmakers and various government agencies for scores of ghost projects." The investigation was spawned by sworn affidavits of six (6) whistle-blowers who declared that JLN Corporation "JLN" standing for Janet Lim Napoles (Napoles) had swindled billions of pesos from the public coffers for "ghost projects" using no fewer than 20 dummy NGOs for an entire decade. While the NGOs were supposedly the ultimate recipients of PDAF funds, the whistle-blowers declared that the money was diverted into Napoles private accounts.

Criminal complaints were filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, charging five (5) lawmakers for Plunder, and three (3) other lawmakers for Malversation, Direct Bribery, and Violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. Also recommended to be charged in the complaints are some of the lawmakers chiefs -of-staff or representatives, the heads and other officials of three (3) implementing agencies, and the several presidents of the NGOs set up by Napoles.

On August 16, 2013, the Commission on Audit (CoA) released the results of a three-year audit investigation covering the use of legislators' PDAF from 2007 to 2009, or during the last three (3) years of the Arroyo administration.

Spurred in large part by the findings contained in the CoA Report and the Napoles controversy, several petitions were lodged before the Court similarly seeking that the "Pork Barrel System" be declared unconstitutional.

On September 10, 2013, the Court issued a Resolution of even date (a) consolidating all cases; (b) requiring public respondents to comment on the consolidated petitions; (c) issuing a TRO (September 10, 2013 TRO) enjoining the DBM, National Treasurer, the Executive Secretary, or any of the persons acting under their authority from releasing (1) the remaining PDAF allocated to Members of Congress under the GAA of 2013, and (2) Malampaya Funds under the phrase "for such other purposes as may be hereafter directed by the President" pursuant to Section 8 of PD 910 but not for the purpose of "financing energy resource development and exploitation programs and projects of the government under the same provision; and (d) setting the consolidated cases for Oral Arguments on October 8, 2013.