Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines— Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad on Thursday said Navotas Representative Toby Tiangco released an incomplete list of recipients of the administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program.
“The list that we published has all the pertinent details of every project funded through DAP. It’s as exhaustive as it can get. The list identifies all the names of all DAP-supported projects and their respective proponents. It shows all the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) numbers, plus the actual amounts released to their respective implementing agencies for the projects endorsed by legislators. It’s all there,” Abad said in a statement.
The budget secretary cautioned Tiangco from “spreading erroneous data when the source already gives us the clearest information.”
Tiangco bared a list Wednesday stating that 138 lawmakers have received DAP funds amounting to P8.8 billion.
Abad debunked these figures stating that the DBM list available on its website stated that P12.3 billion DAP funds were released to 175 lawmakers.
He maintained that DBM only course DAP funds through government agencies and not to legislators.
Abad also said that the P12.3 billion released for DAP projects went to “infrastructure projects, medical and hospital assistance, and social welfare initiatives.”
Tiangco’s DAP list revealed the “Top 10” DAP beneficiaries which are all from the Liberal Party, the political party of President Benigno Aquino III.
They are:
Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Aguinaldo Abaya (P408 million); Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. (P297.487 million); Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II (P263 million); former Cavite Rep. Erineo “Ayong” Saquilayan Maliksi (P217.894 million); former An-Waray Rep. Florencio “Bem” Noel (P179.5 million); Batanes Rep. Henedina Abad (P176.619 million); former Laguna Rep. Edgar San Luis (P160.209 million); former Cebu Rep. Tomas Osmeña (P124.124 million); former Quezon Rep. Lorenzo “Erin” Tañada III (P120.581 million); and former Batangas Rep. Nelso Collantes (P110 million).
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