High court asked to declare DAP illegal

On the eve of hearing petitions seeking to declare the congressional pork barrel unconstitutional, the Supreme Court received a plea to declare the newly created Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) illegal.

In his 16-page petition, former Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco Jr. asked the court on Monday not only to declare the DAP unconstitutional but also to recommend charges against its supposed creators—Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Senate President Franklin Drilon.

The court is hearing today oral arguments on petitions opposing the legislative Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) following revelations that over the past decade P10 billion in pork barrel funds meant to ease rural poverty went to the pockets of senators and congressmen in kickbacks from ghost projects.

The Office of the Solicitor General is expected to defend the continuation of the PDAF, as well as President Aquino’s own pork barrel, including the Special Purpose Funds and the Malampaya Fund.

Commission on Audit (COA) chair Grace Pulido-Tan has been invited to appear in today’s hearing as “amicus curiae,’’ or “friend of the court.’’

Tan has released a COA special audit of the PDAF from 2007 to 2009 that showed irregularities in its disbursements. She said 74 lawmakers were able to get more than their share of PDAF by “hundreds of millions.” About P6 billion from the PDAF during the period was found to have gone to 82 bogus nongovernment organizations (NGOs), she said.

Representatives of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) were likewise requested by the high court to be present.

On Sept. 10, the court suspended further PDAF disbursements pending its resolution of questions about the pork barrel whose constitutionality it had upheld on three occasions.

Former senatorial candidates Greco Antonious Beda Belgica and Samson Alcantara and Boac Mayor Pedrito Nepomuceno have asked the court to stop the implementation of the PDAF because of its alleged repeated abuse by lawmakers.

Belgica later filed a supplemental petition also asking the court to strike down as unconstitutional a law that allowed the President to use the Malampaya Fund for nonrelated energy spending. He also questioned the legality of the DAP.

Graft charges

For his part, Nepomuceno wanted to stop the release of the PDAF through senators and congressmen and proposed that this be channeled instead to local governments to fund projects identified by municipal, barangay, city and provincial officials.

In his petition, Syjuco urged the court to declare the creation and implementation of the DAP unconstitutional and illegal, order the DBM to desist from implementing the program and recommend criminal and administrative charges against Abad and Drilon.

Syjuco earlier filed plunder charges against Drilon, his political rival, for allegedly receiving kickbacks, rebates and commissions from his pork barrel as senator in the construction of the P200-million Iloilo Hall of Justice and the structure’s latest retrofitting at a cost of P50 million.

Syjuco himself is facing graft charges for which a warrant for his arrest had been issued in connection with the alleged P61 million overpricing of training tools bought by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (Tesda) on his watch.

In his petition, Syjuco cited reasons why the DAP was unconstitutional and illegal.

He said the DBM created the DAP without any law passed to support it in violation of a constitutional mandate that all appropriation of funds should be based on a law and that no law can be passed authorizing the transfer of appropriations, among others.

Syjuco said Drilon and Abad “unlawfully appropriated and released funds to an item or project that is not included in the…appropriations law or sanctioned by Congress.”

“Worse was when they released funds to senators who belong to a different branch of the government, the legislative branch of the government … in blatant and gross violation of the Constitution,” said Syjuco, who asked the high court to hold Drilon and Abad “accountable and liable for their unlawful and unconstitutional acts.”

Syjuco also said in his petition that  Drilon “should be directed to return that full amount of P100 million” which he got as his share for the DAP released to senators last year just after the conviction of  Chief Justice Renato Corona.