Senate summons Butch Abad over DAP

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — Beleaguered Budget Secretary Florencio Abad has been summoned by a Senate panel on July 21 to explain the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, chairman of the finance committee, directed Abad to submit to the body the complete list of the all the Special Allotment Release Orders or SARO that were disbursed under the DAP, including “projects/purpose and the amount of the releases.”

“You have been asking us which among our programs and projects were funded by the DAP… This is what we have been asking the DBM too since our last committee hearing: where is the list?” Escudero said in a statement.

DBM is Department of Budget and Management being headed by Abad.

Escudero said he wanted Abad to clarify reports that the total disbursed funds under the DAP amounted to P372 billion, which did not tally with the list provided by the budget department.

“What DBM gave to the committee only amounted to over P200 billion,” he pointed out.

The senator said he would also ask Abad to identify the fund releases under the DAP that were considered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

“If we want to scrutinize the DAP releases under the guidance of the SC decision, we need all the papers that only DBM can provide,” he said.

“We are entering the budget season and on the part of the finance committee, we are carefully studying the court decision to ensure that the next budget we will be crafting and approving will be compliant with the Supreme Court decision on the DAP,” Escudero added.

The hearing on July 21 will be the continuation of the previous proceedings by the committee that were suspended out of courtesy to the Supreme Court, which was then deliberating the various challenges questioning the legality of the DAP.

RELATED STORIES

Aquino rejects Butch Abad resignation

SC declares parts of DAP unconstitutional

DAP critics on Aquino clearing Abad: Too much, too soon