MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / July 21, 2014) – At least two dozen politicians and their backers opposed to President Benigno Aquino’s use of controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP have filed an impeachment complaint against him and wanted the Filipino leader remove from office.
The complainants accused Aquino of culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust arising from his implementation of the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program or DAP.
“Complainants accuse President Aquino of culpably violating the Constitution by usurping Congress’ power of the purse and undermining the principles of separation of powers and system of checks and balances. They likewise accuse the President of betraying the public trust by exacerbating the corrupt pork barrel system, committing tyrannical abuse of his powers, violating his oath of office, and perpetrating multiple counts of technical malversation and corruption of public officials. For this, he must be held to account so that lessons must be learned. For this he must be impeached,” reads the introductory of the impeachment complaint endorsed by Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarrate, and Anakpawis Representative Fernando Hicap.
The complainants include people, who earlier questioned the DAP before the Supreme Court, as well as anti-PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) advocates that figured in last year’s Million People March and succeeding actions. Religious leaders, members of the academe, corruption whistle-blowers and various sectoral leaders also signed the complaint.
Among those who supported the impeachment complaint were Bagong Alyansang Makabayan Secretary-General Renato Reyes, Jr.; Confederation for Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees President Ferdinand Gaite,; Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption Founding Chairman and President Dante Jimenez, Atty. Jose Malvar Villegas Jr., President of Citizens Crime Watch; all of whom were petitioners versus the DAP before the Supreme Court.
Other complainants include retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz; Bishop Emergencio Padillo, of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines; Bishop Joselito Cruz, of the Iglesia Filipina Independiente; former Gabriela representative Liza Maza; UP Prof. Judy Taguiwalo; musician Monet Silvestre; Fr. Benjamin Alforque, of the Church People’s Alliance Against Pork Barrel; Marie Sol Villalon, of the Promotion for Church People’s Response; Sandra Cam, President of the Whistle-blowers Association; Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas Chairman Rafael Mariano; Kilusang Mayo Uno Chairman Elmer Labog; Migrante International Chairman Garry Martinez; UP Professor Danilo Arao, and Robert Mendoza, RX Pork Convenor.
Others who signed the impeachment complaint were leaders of the Scrap Pork Network led by artist Mae Paner, Inday Varona; Noemi Dado and Deng Silorio; and also Lolita Donato, Alerto Mamimili, Gloria Arellano, Chairperson of the Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap; Maria Aurora Santiago, Joan Mae Salvador, Secretary-General of GABRIELA; Vencer Mari Crisostomo, Anakbayan Chairman and Concepcion Empeno, Chairperson of Desaparecidos, and mother of missing UP activist Karen Empeno.
“The Disbursement Acceleration Program turned the General Appropriations Act into one man’s pork barrel. By virtue of his unchecked exercise of discretion, he juggled funds from one program to another, or in the case of DAP, to projects based on his mere whim,” the complaint reads.
The complainants believe that DAP further exacerbated the corruption in the pork barrel system by giving additional pork to lawmakers and local officials, in exchange for their support for the Aquino administration.
“Sa pamamagitan ng DAP, pinasahol pa ni Aquino ang korap na sistemang pork barrel sa bansa, salungat sa pangako niya daang-matuwid. The President says DAP is a stimulus program done in good faith. This is belied by the list of DAP projects, most of which have nothing to do with stimulating the economy save for increasing government expenditures,” the complainants said.
The complainants averred that DAP allowed Aquino to give lawmakers some P17.3 billion in extra pork through lump-sum items known as “other various local projects”. Other DAP expenditures were also lump-sum discretionary spending such as additional pork for local officials in the form of “support for LGUs” and various local infrastructure projects.
They said that to enlarge the presidential pork, Aquino withheld funding for so-called “slow-moving projects” and took control of the savings of agencies that were previously used for personnel development. The benefits of ordinary teachers and other government employees suffered because the so-called “savings” were being centralized to fatten the presidential pork.
Some 900 Special Allotment Release Orders of the more than 1,000 total DAP SAROs were reportedly given to lawmakers and this bolsters the complainants’ allegations that DAP truly intended to function as presidential pork.
Aquino approved the DAP in 2011 on the recommendation of the Development Budget Coordination Committee and the Cabinet Clusters as a “stimulus package” by the government for various programs and projects. From 2011 to 2012, DAP funding reached P142.23 billion – P83.53 billion in 2011 and P58.70 billion in 2012 – and most of the funds went to healthcare, public works, housing and resettlement, agriculture, tourism, road infrastructure, school infrastructure, rehabilitation and extension of light rail transit systems, and electrification project in the villages.
Last year, some P15.13 billion in DAP funds were also released by Budget Secretary Butch Abad and these went to the police and redevelopment of the Roxas Boulevard in Manila and other rehabilitation projects in areas affected by typhoons.
Aquino said the DAP funds came from the savings of various government agencies and is legal, citing Article VI Section 25 (5) ng 1987 Constitution. “…the President, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and the heads of Constitutional Commissions may, by law, be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations.”
And Book VI Chapter 5 Section 39 of the 1987 Administrative Code: “Except as otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act, any savings in the regular appropriations authorized in the General Appropriations Act for programs and projects of any department, office or agency, may, with the approval of the President, be used to cover a deficit in any other item of the regular appropriations….”
“If there is a singular legacy that I am leaving, and sana, masanay ang kababayan natin na ito ang kaya ng gobyernong pinapatakbo nang matino,” Aquino said.(With a report from J. Magtanggol)
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