Noy on DAP case: We’re guilty until proven innocent

MANILA, Philippines - In one of its arguments against the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), the Supreme Court may have violated a basic provision in the Constitution on the presumption of innocence, President Aquino said in a radio interview on Wednesday.

He said that in the SC decision, he and some Cabinet officials, particularly Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, were asked to prove their good faith or innocence in the use of funds released through DAP. 

Aquino said that under Article III of the Bill of Rights, anyone accused of wrongdoing is presumed innocent until guilt is established.

“It was changed in this case: Guilty until proven innocent. So, ulit, parang napalitan na naman yata iyung Saligang Batas dito (Again, it seems something has been changed in the Constitution),” Aquino told Bombo Radyo in an interview at Malacañang Palace. 

Aquino said there is a pattern of justices reversing or contradicting themselves on matters of national interest and business.

He said this was the reason why he likened the SC decision to accosting a harried motorist taking an emergency patient to a hospital for illegal parking.

He said that to his knowledge, laws have prospective, not retroactive, application.

“Ibig sabihin, ginagawa mo iyung batas na iyon; mula ngayon hanggang sa hinaharap ay  valid na siya. Hindi puwedeng may batas ngayon tapos aasuntuhin mo iyung tao doon sa ginawa niya kahapon o nung lumipas (It means a law is valid from the time of its enactment. It’s not right that a person is made to account for something he has done in the past),” he explained.

Aquino also cited the alleged midnight appointment of former chief justice Renato Corona in May 2010 and how it was upheld by the SC.

The 1987 Constitution prohibits any appointment two months before the elections.

Corona was ousted in May 2012 after the Senate convened as an impeachment court found him guilty of concealing some of his assets.