MALACAÑANG on Wednesday welcomed the Office of the Ombudsman’s order to investigate Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad for technical malversation over the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was said to be the pork barrel of President Benigno Aquino III.
Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma called the inquiry as an “opportunity” to clarify issues surrounding the controversial DAP, a savings-impounding mechanism portions of which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.
“The conduct of preliminary investigation provides an opportunity to clarify the legal issues on the implementation of the DAP considering that upon the government’s motion for reconsideration, the Supreme Court upheld the principle of operative fact,” Coloma said.
“We affirm our position that the government acted in the public interest,” he added.
READ: Ombudsman to probe Abad over DAP | Abad faces complaint over DAP | DBM: Ombudsman probe over DAP ‘not a matter of stealing’
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales on Wednesday ordered the investigation of Abad, who was said to be the brains behind DAP, along with Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos, who is currently facing graft chargers over the pork barrel scam. The order came after Morales approved the fact-finding probe of the Ombudsman field investigation office which found Abad and Relampagos liable over DAP.
READ: SC affirms ruling vs DAP
In its July 2014 ruling which it later modified in February 2015, the high court declared some practices under DAP as unconstitutional. The DAP first became controversial in September 2013 when Sen. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada disclosed in a privilege speech that senator judges were bribed P50 million in DAP to convict then Chief Justice Renato Corona. Yuji Vincent Gonzales