Binay camp worried gov’t savings will sweeten Roxas’ campaign coffers
THE camp of Vice President Jejomar Binay is worried that billions of government savings would be used to fund the 2016 presidential campaign of Interior Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas II.
“It is perplexing that the Aquino administration asked Congress for P2.4 trillion in 2014 but did not release 13 per cent or P303 billion,” Lawyer Rico Quicho, Binay’s spokesperson for political affairs, said in a statement Wednesday.
“Secretary Butch Abad has said in an interview this will be released in the second half of this year. Why? We cannot help but think that the ‘savings’ will be used to fund the campaign of LP presidential candidate Mar Roxas,” Quicho added.
The lawyer found it “quite suspicious” that the Aquino administration – which came up with the Development Acceleration Program (DAP) to accelerate implementation government projects – “failed to release substantial amounts for important development projects.”
“They are not only utterly incompetent. What they are doing is also highly suspicious,” he said.
He said the government has “failed to use resources for major projects for which it asked funding for.”
Article continues after this advertisement“The funds were there. The projects have been identified. Why delay the release in the last part of 2015 and add the 303 billion peso savings to the P2.56-trillion budget for this year?” he said.
Article continues after this advertisementINQUIRER.net has tried to get the reaction of Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad but has not responded as of posting time.
‘Campaign war chest’
Quicho has expressed concerns over the request of President Benigno Aquino III for Roxas to remain as Interior secretary despite his resignation.
“He resigned but he is still there. The President said he is still looking for a replacement and that he may ask Roxas to finish a lot of things that are being done,” he said.
“That does not make sense at all. It just fuels suspicions that the LP is indeed filling up its campaign war chest,” he added.
On July 31, Aquino endorsed Roxas as the administration’s standard-bearer for 2016 presidential derby. Roxas has accepted the endorsement and vowed to continue the reforms Aquino has started.
