Two senators of two minds on DAP

Alan Peter Cayetano and Teofisto Guingona III INQUIRER FILE PHOTOS

TACLOBAN CITY—“Where are the projects purportedly funded through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) for the survivors of Super Typhoon ‘Yolanda?’”

The question was raised on Tuesday by Senator Alan Peter Cayetano following a visit to Ormoc City in reaction to the claim of President Benigno Aquino that the effects of the DAP were immediately felt by the people. Cayetano said he did not see any DAP-funded project or classroom repair or rebuilding in Ormoc, one of the areas badly hit by Yolanda on Nov. 8, 2013.

“The President said the effects can be immediately felt because the DAP means accelerated, which means fast,” said Cayetano, an administration ally.

“But several months have passed since the calamity, and we cannot see the classrooms except those provided by the private sector,” he added.

Cayetano said the government had only provided seedlings and fishing boats and repaired or reconstructed a few government buildings damaged or destroyed.

“The people should feel and see the help extended by government,” he said.

Adhering to rule of law

In Cebu province, Senator Teofisto Guingona III said Aquino may be dramatic in his public pronouncements against the Supreme Court’s ruling declaring the DAP unconstitutional, but he noted that the President’s plan to file a motion for reconsideration indicated he was adhering to the rule of law.

Guingona said that the appeal would allow the court to “review the presumption of bad faith” which the magistrates indicated accompanied the crafting of the supposed economic stimulus facility.

Guingona, who was in Cebu City on Monday to address participants of the national convention of the Municipal Mayors League of the Philippines, lauded Aquino for addressing the Filipino people and explaining to them his policy on the DAP.

“Would you rather that he keep quiet? No. You’d rather hear from the leader of your country,” Guingona said.

The senator said the court decision thumbed down only three acts in the DAP—augmenting items that were not in the General Appropriations Act, the use of savings and the use of the unprogrammed funds in the absence certification from the treasurer.

No criminal liability

While these acts have been declared unconstitutional, he said, “there is no criminal liability” in the actions.

Still, Guingona said, that in order to prevent future problems, Congress would have to be more careful in approving the 2015 national budget and be mindful of the court rulings on the DAP and the Priority Development Assistance Fund, the congressional pork barrel,  which it had likewise declared illegal.

“Even the chair of the Senate finance committee has said that we will make sure that the budget will conform to the Supreme Court decisions,” he said.

It is such a waste that the 2015 budget will no longer include appropriations for the DAP, Guingona said.

The country is expected to have a bigger budget next year to address the needs of calamity-affected areas, he said. “It’s a pity because I’m sure that the DAP has caused great economic progress in this country.”

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