Impeachment complaint premature, warns Palace

By: Kristine Angeli Sabillo - 10 years ago

President Benigno S. Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang on Sunday warned President Benigno Aquino III’s critics against filing an impeachment complaint based on the Supreme Court’s decision declaring parts of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional.

“If the prospective impeachment complaint will be based on the DAP decision, then it could be premature and unwarranted, considering that the decision is still under reconsideration before the Supreme Court,” Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said in a statement.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) earlier said that its network will file on Monday an impeachment complaint against Aquino “for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust in the matter of the Disbursement Acceleration Program.”

It criticized the President for not only defending the now defunct economic stimulus program but also for allegedly threatening the high court.

But Coloma said that Aquino “acted well within the limits of his authority.”

“We will respect the processes of the House of Representatives to determine whether or not there is sufficient basis for such impeachment complaint,” he added.

The SC on July 1 declared parts of DAP unconstitutional because it had allegedly violated laws prohibiting cross-border transfer of savings, among others. Two weeks later, Aquino assailed the decision and warned against a possible clash of the two equal branches of government.

Aquino insisted that the legal basis of the DAP should be revisited by the SC and that the Executive did nothing wrong in implementing programs that benefited the public.