We’re correcting DAP – Noy
B N S B N President uino says he is sounding like a broken record in ustifying the isbursement cceleration Program or even the Priority evelopment ssistance Fund, but concedes the P is “imperfect” and is being corrected.
uino said the government cannot simply take away all lump sum funds for the President, but insisted that nothing would go wrong with a system if those tasked to implement it could be trusted.
he President said he was aware of the criticisms but has not heard anyone making
suggestions as to what the government should do about the thousands of scholars and ailing people who need to have access to these public funds.
He said putting a lid on these public funds would definitely hamper the services being provided by the government to hundreds of thousands of scholars and ailing citizens.
Aquino said he has tasked Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad to look into the legalities concerning the programs and projects that should continue.
He said they would like to be able to fund these items without violating the temporary restraining order of the Supreme Court on PDAF.
Speaking with Philippine media covering the 23rd Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit and related meetings here, Aquino enumerated some of the benefits the DAP mechanism had given to underprivileged Filipinos.
“I’m just trying to be fair. And I think there’s a resource that can be gotten when you have people who are involved in local politics who would know the actual people who are in need, the actual sitios in need, their voices also have to be heard,” he said. “We are Filipinos regardless of where we came from – an urban center or in the most rural areas – we are entitled to the same services,” the President said.
He also reiterated that the DAP has legal and constitutional bases, citing provisions stipulated under Executive Order 292 of the Administrative Code of 1987, which recognized the legislative powers of the executive at the time, and the several General Appropriations Acts passed by Congress under his administration.
He said over 1,000 housing units were ready to be distributed by the National Housing Authority (NHA) to some members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) who lost their homes during the recent Zamboanga City crisis and the funds for these would come from DAP.
More DAP defense
Joining the official chorus of DAP defenders, Transportation Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said funds made available through the scheme have been helping the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) protect the country’s territorial waters.
During ceremonies marking the 112th anniversary of the PCG, Abaya said patrol and surveillance operations in the West Philippine Sea, particularly in Bajo de Masinloc, have greatly benefited from more than P100 million released through DAP.
The PCG is an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
“We looked through our records and the discussion on the DAP, there were funds released to the PCG in September 2012, P44 million was released as additional MOOE (maintenance and other operating expenses) for the patrol operations at Bajo de Masinloc. Likewise P105 million (was) allocated for capability requirement for the operations of the PCG at the West Philippine Sea,” Abaya said.
“The PCG is able to perform its mission in patrolling Bajo de Masinloc because of DAP. The PCG is able to repair their ships in order to patrol the West Philippine Sea because of DAP,” he pointed out.
He said the government would also tap DAP for the purchase of new coaches for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and for the rehabilitation of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines 1 and 2.
He explained that DAP “is a policy adopted by government to realign saving for immediate, needed and implementable programs of government.” He also stressed that DAP “is not an appropriation item.”
“It is not something we would see in the budget. If the government did not realign the savings, the money would just be returned to the Bureau of Treasury,” he said.
Instead of criticizing DAP, Abaya said the people should focus on helping find those who had misused taxpayers’ money. He said there are groups and individuals who are trying to mislead the people and make it appear that officials in the administration are corrupt.
“When we spend the funds from DAP to patrol Bajo de Masinloc, that’s different from stealing. People who stole or played around with the people’s money should be made accountable,” he said.
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), through public affairs chief Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala, also defended the military’s DAP-funded projects, saying they were “aboveboard” and that the budgets for them “were judiciously spent.”
Earlier, the Department of Defense admitted having received DAP funds worth P665.6 million in 2011 and 2012.
The bulk of the amount released to the DND went to the Air Force and the Presidential
Security Group (PSG).