Kabataan Rep. Terry Ridon INQUIRER.net FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Militant lawmakers who endorsed the impeachment complaints against President Benigno Aquino III defended the raps against Aquino, calling the President a “dictator” who committed 116 counts of technical malversation.
During Tuesday’s justice committee hearing of the impeach raps, Kabataan Representative Terry Ridon called Aquino a “budget dictator.”
“Inasmuch as we cannot have a country run by a thief, we likewise cannot have a country run by a fiscal dictator,” Ridon said in his speech.
Bayan Muna Representative Neri Colmenares meanwhile accused Aquino of committing 116 counts of technical malversation when he used P144 billion worth of pork barrel funds from his outlawed Disbursement Acceleration Program.
“Sa pamamagitan ng DAP pinasahol pa ni Aquino ang korap na sistemang pork barrel sa bansa, salungat sa pangako niya ‘daang matuwid,'” Colmenares said in his speech.
(Through DAP, Aquino has made the corrupt pork barrel system in the country even worse, which is contrary to his promise of “straight path.”)
The first two complaints stemmed from Aquino’s Disbursement Acceleration Program, parts of which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. The third is over the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, which seeks a greater US military presence in the country despite a constitutional ban on foreign bases.
The impeachment raps were endorsed by militant lawmakers Bayan Muna Representatives Colmenares and Carlos Zarate, Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap, Ridon, Act Teachers Representative Antonio Tinio and Gabriela Representative Emmi De Jesus.
A fourth impeachment rap accused Aquino of sustaining the outlawed Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the 2014 budget. The SC declared as unconstitutional the congressional pork at the height of a corruption scandal under the alleged scheme of Janet Lim-Napoles.
But the complaint failed to reach the floor in time for the committee referral of the first three complaints.
Last Tuesday, the complaints were found sufficient in form based on verification of complainants and endorsement of lawmakers.
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