DAP legal, says Palace

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) laid down yesterday what they called constitutional and legal bases for the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), considered by critics as a disguised pork barrel fund of the administration.

The government posted on the websites of the DBM and the Official Gazette what it held were legal justifications for the controversial scheme.

But Ricky Carandang of the Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Office admitted that DAP may need fine-tuning.

“I think it’s very clear that there is a problem,” Carandang told reporters covering the 21st Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali, Indonesia.

“We have conceded and we have acceded that there are things that need to be fixed and we are fixing them,” he said.

The postings were made apparently to quash arguments that President Aquino had committed an impeachable offense by allowing the distribution of DAP funds to lawmakers months after the Senate voted to impeach former chief justice Renato Corona.

Administration critics said Aquino may have abused his power over lump sum funds when he allowed the disbursements.

But various government agencies have released statements showing DAP’s role in speeding up projects and pump-priming the economy.

Based on a primer released by the DBM and the Official Gazette, DAP covers high-impact budgetary programs and projects funded mainly from savings generated in a specific year.

DBM Secretary Florencio Abad said the government had to recall its advice to lawmakers late last year and early this year that they identify projects to be funded by DAP, as funds would be needed for the rehabilitation of Zamboanga City laid siege for weeks by Moro National Liberation Front forces loyal to Nur Misuari, as well as for assistance to victims of Typhoon Pablo last year.

According to the DBM, funds used for programs and projects identified through DAP were sourced from government savings, the realignment of which was subject to the approval of the President.

DAP may also draw from unprogrammed funds usually from windfall revenue collections, dividends from government-owned and controlled corporations as well as from proceeds of sale of government assets.

The DBM also said that under Section 25 (5), Article 6 of the Constitution, the president, the senate president, the speaker, the chief justice and the heads of constitutional commissions may be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective budgets.

Section 49, Chapter 5, Book 6 of the 1987 Administrative Code also allows the use of savings in the General Appropriations Act for certain purposes.

Savings may also be used to cover any deficiency in peso counterpart funding for foreign-assisted projects, as may be approved by the president, as well as “priority activities” aimed at promoting the economic well-being of the nation, including food production, agrarian reform, and energy development, among others.

The DBM also said Section 38, Chapter 5, Book 6 of EO 292 or the “Suspension of Expenditure of Appropriations” provides a legal basis for the “Authority to Withdraw Unobligated Balances.”

“Except as otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act and whenever in his judgment the public interest so requires, the President, upon notice to the head of office concerned, is authorized to suspend or otherwise stop further expenditure of funds allotted for any agency, or any other expenditure authorized in the General Appropriations Act, except for personal services appropriations used for permanent officials and employees,” the DBM said.

DAR’s piece

Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Virgilio de los Reyes, meanwhile, also defended DAP, saying they had sought funding assistance through the scheme for projects implemented in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in 2011.

“DAP is not PDAF. Not all DAP is bad. In this case, we have line items we need to augment using DAP. And this is under the General Appropriations Act,” the DAR chief said in a phone patch interview on ANC yesterday afternoon.

He said P1.29 billion under DAP was used for building several farm-to-market roads and other infrastructure projects in more than 100 agrarian reform communities in 19 provinces.

He also bared that in December 2011 and

January the following year, representatives of some senators went to DAR to offer funding under DAP.

De los Reyes recalled being offered P400 million under DAP for agrarian reform beneficiaries. The lawmakers, he said, did not pursue the offer after he told them that he wanted the projects to undergo bidding.

“After that, they didn’t pursue us anymore, and we heard the fund was given to another agency,” he said.

He said he only learned from newspaper reports that the funds were turned over to the National Livelihood Development Corp.

“If this is true, I can’t speak for them as to what

projects these funds were used, or what non-government organizations were able to access said funding,” De Los Reyes said.

The Department of Science and Technology also defended DAP saying an attached agency, the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA), received P425 million in 2011 under the scheme.

PAGASA used the funds to upgrade its weather forecasting and flood warning capabilities.

In a statement, DOST said P275 million had been earmarked for the building of PAGASA’s first National Meteorological and Climate Center. The remaining P150 million was used for the upgrade of the agency’s Doppler radar network.

“With these accelerated efforts being done, the DOST is confident of fulfilling its target to put in place an integrated flood early warning system by July 2014. What has not been accomplished in the past four decades, the DOST is poised to finish in two years,” DOST Secretary Mario Montejo said in a statement.

Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian, meanwhile, urged Malacañang to tap the regional development councils (RDCs) for its DAP-funded programs.

“The RDCs have already in their sleeves development projects that can positively accelerate growth with quantifiable economic benefits,” he said.

“The RDC has under its wings all key government agencies, including LGUs and the private sector, which are all closely working in the implementation of short- and long-term regional projects.

 â€“ With Jess Diaz, Rainier Allan Ronda, Rhodina Villanueva, Delon Porcalla