SC resets deliberations on DAP
Video by INQUIRER.net’s RYAN LEAGOGO
MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court has reset the deliberations on the petitions seeking to declare as unconstitutional President Benigno Aquino III’s heavily criticized Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
DAP petitions were discussed by the justices when they resumed session last June 3, but rescheduled for another week after some Justices sought more time to ponder on the petition.
Photo by RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net
SC will try to make a ruling on July 1.
The high tribunal received nine petitions against DAP.
The petitioners are:
-Greco Belgica
-former Iloilo Rep. Augusto Syjuco
– lawyer Jose Malvar Villegas Jr.
-Manuelito Luna
– Philippine Constitution Association (Philconsa)
-Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP);
– Bayan Muna, Kabataan and Gabriela party-list groups
-Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage)
-Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.
The high court has conducted a three-part oral arguments on the case early this year.
Petitioners alleged that the discretionary fund of the President violates the exclusive power of Congress to appropriate funds – just like in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which was declared unconstitutional by the high court last year.
However, the government sought the dismissal of the petition with Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza telling the high court during the oral argument that the government already stopped using DAP in the middle of 2013 after the P149 billion used to pump prime the economy for three years has achieved its purpose.
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad echoed Jardeleza’s statement, saying DAP has already served its purpose.
He said when they introduced DAP in October 2011, spending quarter of that year has surged by 32.5 percent year-on-year pulling spending up to a full-year growth of 2.3 precent.
Abad further noted that disbursements have further strengthened the economy, growing by 11.8 percent year-on-year as of end of September 2013. He said infrastructure spending alone has recovered from a 29-percent contraction in 2011 to a 34-percent growth as of end-September 2013.
“The increased spending level contributed significantly to our country’s stellar GDP growth which had averaged 7.4 percent in the first three quarters of 2013,” he added.
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