1/3 of DAP went to off-budget items

The Aquino administration channelled a third of the P142.23 billion of the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds that it spent in the last two years to off-budget items, which should destroy its main defense that the stimulus funds were used for projects approved by Congress in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“These huge amounts were spent on budgetary items many of which were not in the 2011 or 2012 GAA passed by Congress, and Bayan Muna would very much want to hear Malacañang explain if these indeed were in the budget,” said party-list representative Neri Colmenares of Bayan Muna.

Colmenares cited at least seven items that used DAP funds but were not in the 2011 and 2012 GAA national budget: P4.5 billion for the purchase of additional trains for the MRT 3; P1.82 billion for the Moro National Liberation Front and the Cordillera People’s Liberation Army under the Pamana program for rebel returnees; P26.9 billion for government-owned and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) on top of their annual budgetary support; P8.5 billion “stimulus fund” for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao on top of its regular P11.8 billion budget;

P625 million to conduct a survey on farmers and fisherfolk by the Department of Agrarian Reform and Department of Agriculture; P1.2 billion for the DAR’s “Agrarian Reform Communities Project” (which Colmenares said already has an outstanding loan from the Asian Development Bank which costs the government in annual interest payments despite being unused by the government); and an unspecified amount given to senators (who reportedly got between P50 million and P100 million each, according to Sen. Jinggoy Estrada) during the impeachment trial of CJ Renato Corona.

Colmenares said the National Budget Circular 541 issued by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad in July last year to justify the P142.23 billion and P83.53 billion in DAP funds spent in 2011 and 2012, respectively, “practically  circumvents the appropriations approved by Congress for the year by realigning these to other projects, many of which were never even considered by Congress when it approved the budget, nor found in the GAA.”

The Abad circular ordered “the withdrawal of all unobligated allotments of all agencies with low level of obligations as of June 30, 2012 both for continuing and current allotment.”

Colmenares pointed out that no part of an agency’s budget could be considered as savings before the end of the year it was supposed to be spent, and unless the agency’s projects were either completed or abandoned.

He said the Aquino administration has not been able to point to any law that allows for this juggling of funds.

“The NBC circular is not even a law and a DBM circular cannot trump the General Appropriations Act approved by Congress,” he said.

Meanwhile, Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, spokesman of the United Nationalist Alliance, yesterday said the Aquino administration should put a halt to DAP while it is facing a legal challenge before the Supreme Court as a matter of judicial courtesy.

After all, Tiangco noted, the administration suspended the release of congressional pork barrel funds for the rest of 2013 after the constitutionality of the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) was questioned before the high tribunal.

This came even before the high court issued a temporary restraining order against the use of PDAF this year, he said.—With a report from Leila B. Salaverria