Former Senator Joker Arroyo. FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Former senator Joker Arroyo, dragged once more into the Disbursement Acceleration Program issue, laid the blame for the mess entirely on Budget Secretary Florencio Abad Jr. on Friday.
Arroyo charged that Abad appropriated P47 million for him from the DAP in 2013 despite Congress’ disapproval, in effect “overruling” the legislature.
“Was Mr. Abad’s initiative borne out of altruism? No, it’s evil geniusness,” he said in a statement.
“I voted to acquit CJ (Chief Justice Renato) Corona in the impeachment trial. To show that the administration is impartial, Mr. Abad bestowed upon me, for appearances, P47 million of DAP funds to squander even if it did not even pass through me,” he added.
Arroyo’s name was on a list of DAP recipients that was recently released by Navotas Rep. Toby Tiangco, and culled from the website of Department of Budget and Management.
In July, Supreme Court justices struck down the DAP, a mechanism whereby savings from the national budget were allocated to supposedly high-impact projects to pump-prime the economy beginning 2011.
When he appeared before the Senate later that month, Abad said some P237.5 billion in savings were pooled from 2010 to 2013, P167 billion was approved by the President and only P144.34 billion was released under the DAP.
Arroyo said that Abad, on his own, lacked the authority to allocate funds for certain projects and assign their disbursement to lawmakers, local government units and other agencies.
And given that the DBM has not been forthcoming on the matter, it was about time the tribunal took “judicial notice of the humongous amounts involved to see how the budget secretary distributed amounts with complete abandon,” Arroyo said.
“DAP is the antithesis of Daang Matuwid, the President’s battlecry. The President cannot keep on waving that banner when Mr. Abad keeps on dragging it down,” he said.
Arroyo said he valued his reputation, but Abad “does not care one whit.”
After he protested his inclusion on the DAP list, Arroyo said he received a Sept. 30, 2013 letter from Abad who explained that the P47 million was charged against the DAP since the then senator’s amendments in the 2013 proposed budget were disapproved, and since he never availed himself of the priority development assistance fund (PDAF).
“Yes, I never avail of PDAF. Yes, I proposed to Congress that P30 million be allotted for the construction of three school buildings in three high schools, and P17 million for indigent patients to be entrusted to the PGH (Philippine General Hospital), my advocacy in my 21 years in the House and thereafter, the Senate,” he said.
“This was disapproved by my colleagues. I accepted their refusal in good grace as the judgment of my peers, in light of my being an independent,” he added. “Thus I have never ever asked nor received from Secretary Abad or DBM P47M from DAP.”
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