DAP raised pork barrel by P13B in 2011, 2012

The Aquino administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) increased the pork barrel allocations of lawmakers by a total of P12.8 billion in 2011 and 2012.

By its own admission, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) announced that only 9 percent of the total P142.23 billion for the DAP during that period went to “programs and projects identified by legislators.”

This means that the share of legislators amounted to P12.8 billion. The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) amounted to P24.8 billion then.

This year, the PDAF amounted to P24.79 billion. Next year’s P25.2-billion allocation and Vice President Jejomar Binay’s P200-million pork barrel were distributed to six different agencies, according to the version of the general appropriations bill approved on second reading at the House of Representatives.

The House realigned the PDAF in response to the public outrage over the alleged misuse of the pork and the public demand to remove all lump-sum appropriations in the national budget.

Under fire for creating the DAP, the DBM earlier justified it as a “stimulus package under the Aquino administration designed to fast-track public spending and push economic growth.” It was to cover “high-impact budgetary programs and projects.”

The DBM identified two fund sources for DAP: “savings generated during the year and additional revenue sources.”

A total of P83.53 billion was released in 2011 and P58.7 billion the following year.

Documents obtained by the Inquirer showed that at least six administration senators were instructed to nominate P100 million worth of projects of their choice in 2011.

Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and Vicente Sotto III did the same in November 2011, a month after the DAP was first announced.

But based on their letters, they later asked the DBM to “realign” their respective allocations to National Livelihood Development Corp. and then recommended foundations linked to Janet Lim-Napoles as “implementors.”

On its website, the DBM said that savings used for the DAP came from “the pooling of unreleased appropriations such as unreleased personnel services appropriations, which will lapse at the end of year.”

Such unreleased appropriations also pertained to “slow-moving projects and discounted projects per zero-based budgeting findings.”

Another source of “savings” were “unobligated allotments, also for slow-moving programs and projects, which have earlier been released to national government agencies.”

In 2011, unused appropriations totaled P238.85 billion. They were broken into unreleased appropriations worth P79.62 billion, and unobligated allotments amounting to P159.23 billion.

Unobligated allotments refer to amounts released by the DBM, but were not used by particular agencies.

In 2012, the total amount of unused appropriations was P216.18 billion. Unobligated allotments then amounted to P178.06 billion.