Aquino gripes: SC paralyzing development

By: Kristine Angeli Sabillo - 10 years ago

President Benigno S. Aquino III. (Malacañang Photo Bureau)

MANILA, Philippines—After assailing the legal judgement of the Supreme Court on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), President Benigno Aquino III on Tuesday accused the high tribunal of hampering the country’s growth.

“Unfortunately, the effects of the Supreme Court decision run the risk of putting our country’s development in a state of paralysis—or worse, reversing the massive progress we have already made,” Aquino told businessmen and government officials attending the Daylight Dialogue at Malacañang.

“The Supreme Court decision is deeply unsettling, not only because our honorable justices failed to take into consideration all our legal bases for DAP, but also and more importantly because their ruling will have a chilling effect on our economy—and consequently on millions of Filipinos,” he added.

The President said the high court’s decision to declare parts of the DAP unconstitutional was “not acceptable.”

“I find it difficult to accept their decision, when I know that we are right, and more importantly, that doing nothing means depriving so many Filipinos of opportunities to grow and prosper,” he said.

“I find it difficult to accept the decision of the Supreme Court, when it goes against the benefit our countrymen. In fact, I believe that any reasonable person confronted with the same dilemma would come up with the same solution—or even a better refinement of what we did,” he added.

Aquino insisted that DAP was “perfectly legal” and that past presidents had similar mechanisms to address slow-moving projects.

“My predecessors all had their versions of DAP, called the Reserve Control Account and alternatively Overall Savings, which were used, in part, to respond to the Asian Financial Crisis, and the Fiscal Crisis,” he said.

He said his predecessors “exercised the authority to transfer appropriations or savings to other branches of government and even to Constitutional Commissions.”

“Perhaps we are being questioned today simply because we have been truly transparent about it,” he said.

Nevertheless, Aquino said he bore “no grudge or ill will against the Supreme Court.”

“I still hold the hope that our colleagues in the Supreme Court never forget that, as they display the legal prowess and acumen that has served them well in their long careers, these abilities must also serve their 98-million countrymen,” he said. “After all, good governance is not just about putting an end to corruption; it is also about finding ways to accelerate the development of our people.”