In the instant case, the President did in fact appoint permanent Commissioners to fill the

vacancies in the COMELEC, subject only to confirmation by the Commission on Appointments.

Benipayo, Borra and Tuason were extended permanent appointments during the recess of
Congress. They were not appointed or designated in a temporary or acting capacity, unlike

Commissioner Haydee Yorac in Brillantes vs. Yorac34 and Solicitor General Felix Bautista in
Nacionalista Party vs. Bautista.35 The ad interim appointments of Benipayo, Borra and Tuason are
expressly allowed by the Constitution which authorizes the President, during the recess of
Congress, to make appointments that take effect immediately.

50
qualifications. The following year, 2003, the same single provision was present, with simply
an expansion of purpose and express authority to realign. Nevertheless, the provisions in the
51 52
2003 budgets of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the DepEd
required prior consultation with Members of Congress on the aspects of implementation
53
delegation and project list submission, respectively. In 2004, the 2003 GAA was re-enacted.

54
In 2005, the PDAF Article provided that the PDAF shall be used "to fund priority programs
and projects under the ten point agenda of the national government and shall be released

55
directly to the implementing agencies." It also introduced the program menu concept, which
is essentially a list of general programs and implementing agencies from which a particular

PDAF project may be subsequently chosen by the identifying authority. The 2005 GAA was re-

56
enacted in 2006 and hence, operated on the same bases. In similar regard, the program menu
57 58 59 60
concept was consistently integrated into the 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 GAAs.

Textually, the PDAF Articles from 2002 to 2010 were silent with respect to the specific amounts

allocated for the individual legislators, as well as their participation in the proposal and

identification of PDAF projects to be funded. In contrast to the PDAF Articles, however, the

provisions under the DepEd School Building Program and the DPWH budget, similar to its

61
predecessors, explicitly required prior consultation with the concerned Member of Congress
anent certain aspects of project implementation. On the other hand the Presidential Social Fund

84 85
was created under Section 12, Title IV of PD 1869, or the Charter of the Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR). PD 1869 was similarly issued by Marcos on

July 11, 1983. More than two (2) years after, he amended PD 1869 and accordingly issued PD

86 87
1993 on October 31, 1985, amending Section 12 of the former law. As it stands, the
Presidential Social Fund has been described as a special funding facility managed and

administered by the Presidential Management Staff through which the President provides direct

assistance to priority programs and projects not funded under the regular budget. It is sourced

88
from the share of the government in the aggregate gross earnings of PAGCOR.