Complainants call DAP one big ‘pork barrel’ of Aquino

President Benigno S. Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines — The complainants in the impeachment rap against President Benigno Aquino III called the president’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as one big “pork barrel” that the President can use at his whim for political patronage.

“The DAP turned the General Appropriations Act into one man’s pork barrel,” the complainants said in their impeachment complaint filed on Monday at the House of Representatives.

The complainants led by militant groups and anti-pork barrel funds groups said Aquino’s power to “juggle funds from one program to another” is “not only fiscally and economically unsound but also evil.”

“It not only destroys accountability but worse, spends public funds according to the discretion of just one man, the President,” the complaint read.

The complainants also said DAP is worse than the lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF), which were allegedly pillaged through ghost projects under the scheme of alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

The Supreme Court had ruled the PDAF, as well as some parts of the DAP, as unconstitutional at the height of the controversy surrounding these.

“That DAP is pork can be seen so clearly in the lump-sum discretionary spending that allowed P17.3 billion in extra pork for lawmakers, P6.5 billion in extra pork for LGUs, or the P2 billion roadworks for the President’s home province of Tarlac,” the complaint read.

According to the complaint, Aquino authorized the release of the following funds from DAP, known as a savings-impounding mechanism to pump-prime the economy, since 2010:

–       P21.544 billion of “unreleased appropriations” as “savings” in November 2010 for the fiscal year 2011;
–       P72.1-billion pooled “savings” and their use to fund projects Aquino declared as priority, including P6.5 billion to “augment” the PDAF of lawmakers, in 2011;
–       Additional DAP projects worth P13.3 billion in December 2011;
–       P32 billion, including P2 billion, for roadworks in the President’s home province of Tarlac and another P8.3 billion for “various local projects,” approved in 2012;
–       P6 billion DAP funds for other priority projects and expenditures of government approved in September 2012;
–       P33.3 billion in DAP funds, chargeable against “available savings and the 2012 ‘‘Unprogrammed Fund,”  including the lump-sum item “other various local projects” amounting to P2.79 billion, and approved in December 2012;
–       P10 billion approved in May 2013, including “various local projects” amounting to P4.6 billion; and
–       P10.534 billion in funds for the Task Force Pablo Rehabilitation plan, supposedly for livelihood, resettlement, infrastructure and social services approved in September 2013.

“The answer is clear as day: DAP is pork barrel on steroids.  Through DAP, President Aquino exercised absolute power over billions of public funds and, as a result, placed the fate of entire institutions, local government units and politicians in his hands,” the complaint read.

“DAP gave the President power, immense and absolute. And we all know that absolute power corrupts absolutely,” it added.

According to the complaint, the President committed “culpable violation of the Constitution,” “betrayed public trust,” and “committed tyrannical abuse of power when he usurped the power of the purse of Congress.”

The complainants also accused the President of 116 counts of technical malversation “when he appropriated and misappropriated, and permitted others to do so, P144 billion in public funds, and applied such to projects other than for which such funds had been appropriated by law.”

There are 28 complainants led by militant groups and anti-pork barrel advocates. The complaint was endorsed by Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, and Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap.

DAP funds first came into controversy when Senator Jinggoy Estrada said in a privilege speech in September 2013 that these were used as incentives to senators who voted to convict former Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Despite the impeachment move, Aquino allies in the House of Representatives were not bothered, saying such a petition will not prosper in the chamber dominated by the President’s supporters.

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