As we all know by now, DAP– the issue that has shaken the otherwise Teflon presidency of Benigno Aquino III–was the brainchild of Abad.
The Supreme Court’s vote was unanimous (13-0) stunning Malacañang who had thought it would be 7-6 in their favor.
By Ellen T. Tordesillas
In the 2015 budget proposal, “savings” is now defined as portions of allocations that “have not been released or obligated” due to “discontinuance or abandonment of a program, activity or project for justifiable causes, at any time during the validity of the appropriations.”
With this definition, President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad can hijack funds allocated to projects under the 2015 General Appropriations Act as what they did with DAP the past three years.
The speech of President Aquino during 75th anniversary of the Department of Budget and Management on April 25, 2011 has become relevant amid the controversy generated by the Disbursement Accelerated Program or DAP, the brainchild of Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad that got unqualified support from President Aquino.
This is what Aquino said:
To underscore the purported urgent nature of the DAP projects, Aquino shared a text message he got: “On this note, allow me to share a text message I received in the last week. It reads: “The politicians are making fiesta regarding DAP; but to our simple non-legalistic mind, it is like a motorist who parked in a ‘no parking zone’ because he had to rush to save the life of an accident victim, which has more value. I’m praying hard that these people will see the good of the people rather than their own ambition.”
“To this I replied: I think the situation now is similar to what you mentioned, and it might be even worse. I am after all being arrested for parking in an area that up to now hasn’t yet been declared a no-parking zone. Is this reasonable?”
President Aquino’s belligerent stand against the Supreme Court’s decision declaring his pet initiative, the Disbursement Acceleration Program, unconstitutional was not at all surprising considering his defense of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Jr. last Friday.
Reading and listening to his speech was not only appalling. It was disturbing.
It showed the lethal combination of ignorance and arrogance.
The issue is his usurpation of Congress’ power of the purse which is a violation of the Constitution and he talked about parking zones!
Today is exactly two weeks after the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision declared as unconstitutional Aquino and his Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad pet project.
Malacañang sources said Aquino was stunned by the voting (13-0. Not even his appointees especially Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno sided with him!) he threw tantrums. He wants to wage war against the Supreme Court justices.
Wonder no more why House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. wants an investigation on the Judiciary Development Fund being administered by the Supreme Court.
Last Friday Aquino gave the public a preview of what he is going to say today. During the cabinet meeting on the 2015 budget, Aquino announced that he was rejecting the resignation of Abad. “I have decided not to accept his resignation. To accept his resignation is to assign to him a wrong and I cannot accept the notion that doing right by our people is wrong.”
Yesterday Abad, who was silent the past two weeks issued a statement taking responsibility for the illegal DAP which was the reason, he said, he tendered his resignation. But there was no apology or remorse for making a mockery of the budget process with the juggling of P374 billion.
Main Decision
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287.pdfSeparate Opinions:
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_carpio.pdf
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_brion.pdf
Concurring and Dissenting opinion
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_delcastillo.pdf
Separate Concurring Opinion
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287
_bernabe.pdf
Concurring Opinion
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_leonen.pdf
The progressive groups –Anakbayan and Kilusang Mayo Uno- have hinted on impeachment in their statements hailing the High Court’s decision on DAP.
Anakbayan’s Vencer Crisostomo said, “Aquino and his pork gang should resign now in shame. Calls for him to be removed from office via impeachment or via a people’s uprising is growing and is increasingly justified. Aquino and his pork gang should be ousted.”
KMU’s Elmer Labog said, “The SC ruling could only further fuel calls for the Pork Barrel King’s resignation, if not ouster from office.”
That’s the essense of Aquino’s televised ranting last Wednesday.
Apparently, Aquino and his team have sensed the public indignation over misuse of pork barrel funds, intended in principle for the poor but ended up in public officials pockets. If everything is going well, why would he make changes in his communication setup. He enjoyed high approval ratings with the condescending Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda (aligned with Mar Roxas faction) assisted by Abigail Valte and Communications strategist Ricky Carandang as his mouthpieces. Why then the need to bring in the unassuming Press Secretary Sonny Coloma, aligned with the 2010 election Samar group that supported Vice President Jojo Binay?
Heart rending is the report about the missing five children playing by the waterfall, which has also been obliterated by landslides that followed the quake.
There may still be areas, isolated by the destruction of roads and bridges that are still to be reached by rescuers and people who are bringing assistance.
Press Secretary Edwin Lacierda went all the way from Malacañang to ABS-CBN to appear personally in Anthony Taberna and Gerry Baja’s radio program “Dos por Dos” to insist that DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Pogram) is not violative of the Constitution according to the opinion of former Senator Joker Arroyo.
Arroyo said it’s the first time that he heard such an animal called DAP.
Former National Treasurer Leonor Briones questioned the legality of this DAP, which was created in October 2011, two months before the start of the impeachment against Corona. “Is there an executive order? Is there a provision in the Constitution which legitimizes its creation?”