MANILA, Philippines – It has been more than a week since the Supreme Court (SC) declared parts of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional but the public has yet to hear Budget Secretary Florencio Abad’s response.
Although it has refused to give a specific date, Malacañang on Thursday said Abad would likely face the public after President Benigno Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address on July 28.
“Sona (State of the Nation Address) is around the corner. Thereafter, we will submit the 2015 proposed national expenditures program. And for that particular reason, he (Abad) has been meeting with a number of agencies; and at some appropriate time, Secretary Butch Abad will come out,” Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said Thursday.
Members of a militant youth group troop outside the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) and burn photos of DBM Secretary Butch Abad as they call for his and President Benigno Simeon Aquino’s resignation and hold them accountable for the misuse of public funds. JOAN BONDOC
The spokesperson reiterated that beleaguered official, who is credited for crafting the DAP, was still busy preparing the 2015 general appropriations bill.
Based on the National Budget Memorandum No. 120, the Department of Budget and Management should have finalized and started printing pertinent budget documents on Thursday.
The memorandum said the printing of documents would run from July 10 to 24. The documents will then be submitted to Aquino on July 25, three days before the Sona.
Although the SC decision did not mention liability of government officials, Abad is facing plunder charges for allegedly misappropriating and misusing public funds through his executive issuances and implemented programs.
Malacañang, however, is ferociously defending Abad. “My shallow reading of the plunder, you are required to have personal gain. And Secretary Butch Abad did not in any manner, shape, or form gain from any of these programs—funds from these programs,” Lacierda said.