In the Know: The Disbursement Acceleration Program, or DAP

The controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) is a mechanism designed by the Aquino administration in 2011 ostensibly to accelerate spending on projects and boost the country’s economic growth.

The program was conceptualized in September 2011 and was approved by President Aquino the following month upon the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee and the Cabinet clusters.

The DAP was created in view of the prevailing underspending in government disbursements for the first eight months of 2011, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The DAP came to light following Sen. Jinggoy Estrada’s privilege speech in September last year. He said 20 senators received at least P50 million in additional lump-sum allocations after the conviction of then Chief Justice Renato Corona in May 2012 for not declaring his dollar deposits in his statement of assets, liabilities and net worth.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad later confirmed the release of P1.107 billion to 20 senators but pointed out that the funds came from the DAP.

Of the total P142.23 billion for the DAP in 2011 and 2012, the DBM said 9 percent, or P12.8 billion, went to programs and projects identified by legislators.

In 2011, a total of P83.53 billion was released to provide additional funds for programs and projects, such as healthcare, public works, housing and resettlement, and agriculture.

The following year, P58.7 billion was released to augment tourism road infrastructure, school infrastructure, rehabilitation and extension of light rail systems, and sitio (subvillage) electrification.

The DBM identified two fund sources for DAP: savings generated by the government, and the unprogrammed fund that can be tapped when the government has windfall revenue collections, such as unexpected remittance of dividends from government-owned and -controlled corporations, and sale of government assets.

Critics said the DAP was unconstitutional and another form of pork barrel. Petitions against DAP were filed in the Supreme Court last year.

During the oral arguments in January, the Aquino administration urged the high court to dismiss the petitions seeking to declare the DAP unconstitutional. Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza said that the anti-DAP petitions had become moot because the Palace stopped its use since mid-2013.

For his part, Abad told the court that the DAP “had already served fully its purpose and that was why the economic managers recommended its termination to the President.”—Inquirer Research

Sources: Inquirer Archives, dbm.gov.ph