Abad offering to quit: Bad script, acting

Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco and Senator Francis Escudero. INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

A badly acted farce.

This was how the opposition described the offered resignation of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and President Benigno Aquino III’s decision on Friday not to accept it as calls escalated for Abad’s head in the face of the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down Malacañang’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

It was the first time that the President had commented on the Supreme Court decision, though his various spokespersons had been defending him, saying Mr. Aquino had done nothing wrong and everything was done “in good faith.”

“It is clear that Abad’s resignation, which was not irrevocable and lacked sincerity and Mr. Aquino’s refusal to accept it was out of self-interest,” said Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, the secretary general of the nominally oppositionist United Nationalist Alliance.

“I believe it’s a matter of I’ll-cover-your-back-you-cover-mine kind of arrangement. Malacañang has already absolved Abad from any wrongdoing, and by protecting Abad, the Palace is also protecting the interest of the President,” said Tiangco, who is closely allied with Vice President Jejomar Binay.

“It was a case of (having) a bad script and bad acting. Maybe they should hire Nora Aunor to learn how to act better,” he said.

Party-list lawmakers in the House of Representatives said the President was “openly defying the law” by not accepting Abad’s resignation on the grounds that he could not accept that Abad’s acts with regard to the DAP were wrong.

This act of Mr. Aquino would only further their resolve to impeach him for betrayal of public trust, they said.

Binay not applauding

Binay attended the Cabinet meeting where Mr. Aquino announced his rejection of Abad’s resignation, which the budget chief offered late Thursday.

As his Cabinet colleagues applauded, a glum-looking Abad was seen on TV rubbing his palms together.

Binay, who called for accountability over the DAP, was captured on camera not joining in the applause.

He left the meeting, which was still going on as of 5 p.m. Friday, before noon, other officials said.

Binay later released a statement commenting on Mr. Aquino’s decision: “The President has made a decision and I respect his decision. The decision to accept or reject the resignation is the prerogative of the President.”

Stimulus plan

The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional a circular issued by Abad allowing the “pooling” of savings from the executive department for distribution to agencies and projects not provided for by the national budget approved by Congress.

The pool became the DAP, a stimulus plan introduced in 2011 to accelerate economic growth through faster government spending.

According to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), P136.75 billion was made available from the 2011 and 2012 national budgets to fund high-impact projects under the DAP. Only P114.57 billion was used, the DBM said.

The President’s spokesperson, Edwin Lacierda, asserted that 91 percent of the DAP funds was spent properly, but said the Palace could not vouch for the 9 percent that went to projects recommended by legislators.

Impassioned prayer

The President’s announcement followed an impassioned opening prayer by Teresita Deles, the presidential adviser on the peace process, pleading for “abiding grace, amazing grace” as the Cabinet gathered at a “time more challenging than most.”

“We individually, and as a Cabinet, under the leadership of President Aquino, have embraced public service as our calling. But the season of disquiet and turmoil has so sorely tested our souls. Legal cases have been filed against our fellow Cabinet members ascribing bad faith and more, where there is none,” she said.

Impeachment is right

The President’s refusal to accept Abad’s resignation convinced some party-list lawmakers that pursuing Mr. Aquino’s impeachment was “the right thing to do,” Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said.

“Whatever Malacañang says, billions of pesos have been lost through the DAP and they should be held accountable for it,” he said.

Mr. Aquino’s rejection of Abad’s resignation was his way of protecting himself, Colmenares said.

ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said the President was “openly defying the law” by refusing to accept that Abad had done wrong.

“In loudly and publicly rejecting the [Supreme Court] ruling on the DAP, he is breaking his oath of office. This is a betrayal of public trust that provides yet another ground for his impeachment,” Tinio said.

“To all those Filipinos who believe with the Supreme Court that the President did, in fact, do wrong, Aquino has effectively thrown down the gauntlet. The President’s message is loud and clear: ‘I did no wrong, impeach me, if you dare,’” he said.

Unrepentant

Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon said the President’s rejection of Abad’s resignation clearly showed that he was unrepentant about the DAP despite the Supreme Court decision and the public clamor.

“[This] gives us further resolve to impeach the President for betrayal of public trust, including cronyism and favoritism,” Ridon said.

Leaders of the ruling coalition in the House have declared that any impeachment bid against Mr. Aquino related to the DAP would be quashed. At least two impeachment complaints have been filed against the President, but no lawmaker has endorsed either of them.

Disrespecting high court

Tiangco said that by absolving Abad, Malacañang had shown “utter disrespect” for the Supreme Court.

“The President is duty-bound to uphold and defend the Constitution. By rejecting Abad’s resignation and by harboring a constitutional offender, the President’s act is a direct insult to the Supreme Court,” Tiangco said.

Tiangco said, however, that the position of UNA was unchanged with regard to moves to impeach the President over the DAP.

He earlier said that UNA would not endorse any impeachment bid against Mr. Aquino “out of delicadeza” as there was conflict of interest due to the fact that Binay stood to benefit, should impeachment prosper.

But the President’s allies in the Senate supported his rejection of Abad’s resignation.

“I am not surprised. I know the President. His trust and confidence in the members of his Cabinet is not based on what may be convenient,” Senate President Franklin Drilon said.

In rejecting Abad’s offer to resign, the President sent a strong message that he would always “stand by what is right.”

“Amid all the political noise and early posturing for 2016, a weak President would’ve taken the easy way out. But that is not P-Noy’s style of governance,” he said.

Drilon said Abad had been the “target of a vicious propaganda campaign.”

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV agreed with Mr. Aquino’s rejection of Abad’s offer to resign.

“From a leadership perspective, it’s the right thing to do. You don’t punish a subordinate for an action that you believe is right and you have adopted yourself,” he said in a text message.

Abad summoned to Senate

But he agreed with other senators that Abad should account for the DAP funds.

Sen. Francis Escudero, the chair of the Senate finance committee, has summoned Abad to a hearing on the DAP set for July 21.

Escudero directed Abad to submit a complete list of the special allotment release orders, or Saros, that were disbursed under the DAP, including the amount of releases and projects.

A Saro is issued by the DBM to confirm that a budget request for a certain project has been approved.

“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.

Escudero received an allocation of P99 million for his pet projects from the DAP, next only to Drilon’s P100 million.

Escudero said Abad should clarify reports that some P372 billion was disbursed under the DAP, which did not tally with the DBM figure of P200 billion.

Abad should identify fund releases under the DAP that were voided by the Supreme Court, he said.

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

He noted that the President would be submitting the proposed 2015 national budget to Congress late this month.

“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,” he said.

‘Ceremonial’ resignation

Sen. Joseph Victor Ejercito agreed, saying that instead of political maneuvering, Abad should release the “full list of DAP recipients and its sources.”

Ejercito received a DAP allocation of P10 million when he was still a San Juan congressman.

Ejercito also mocked Abad’s resignation as merely “ceremonial” because it was not irrevocable.

“He merely wanted to be stopped,” he said.

Sen. Nancy Binay said the President’s rejection of Abad’s resignation was “not only unfortunate but was [also] a bad one.”

Activist priest Fr. Robert Reyes said Abad should do himself a favor and make his resignation irrevocable.

“Resign irrevocably. Let go and let God,” Reyes said in an open letter to Abad.

He urged Abad to follow St. Ignatius’ way of detaching oneself from “whatever weakens our conscience and impairs our freedom.”

He said many Filipinos cannot understand how the DAP and the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) fit in with the President’s “righteous path” policy.

“If cleansing is to be done, then it must be total and thorough. If PDAF goes, then DAP should go as well,” he said in the letter e-mailed to the Inquirer.

Reyes said Abad should not be afraid of being jailed if he’s innocent.

“If you are innocent, if you are clean, there is nothing to fear,” he said.

“Go to jail if you must and let the truth and nothing less set you free. I pray for you and all of my friends in government,” he added.

RELATED STORIES

Palace showed ‘a-bad faith’ in defending Abad over DAP—UNA

Come clean on DAP, Escudero tells Abad

Tiangco dares Abad: Present DAP ‘masterlist’