What does the certification of the Treasurer of the Philippines state?
The exact wording of the certification of the Treasurer of the Philippines is: “This is to certify that the sum of ELEVEN BILLION THREE HUNDRED ONE MILLION SEVEN HUNDRED NINETY THOUSAND PESOS [P11,301,790,000] or so much thereof as may be necessary is available in the National Treasury to fund the appropriations for the proposed House Bill 5715 as Supplemental Appropriations for an Automated Election System and for other purposes” (underscoring ours). There are three items in the certification which arouse curiosity. First, the Treasurer’s statement is just entitled “certification.” Such are usually entitled “Certification of Availability of Funds.” Why is the National Treasurer not certifying to availability of funds? Second, the certification uses the word “sum”, and not “funds.” Besides the difference in spelling, the two words don’t mean the same. “Sum” generally means cash while “funds” in the budgetary sense means that there is a legal authorization involved; in this case it is a
