Senate probe showed no DAP abuses

MANILA, Philippines - Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad is happy with the developments in the Senate panel probe on the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Abad, the acknowledged architect of DAP, said Monday that the eight-hour hearing of the Senate Finance Committee last week on the DAP was "very positive" despite the Supreme Court's ruling against it.

He claimed that the Senate probe similarly showed that no abuses and irregularities occurred in using reallocations under the program, designed supposedly to encourage spending and boost the economy.

"Naka-positibo naman nung nangyari. Sa lahat ng aming natanggap na feedback sinasabi na yun naman pala e, wala naman palang nakawan dyan wala naman palang iregularidad at puwede naman palang ipaliwanag," Abad told reporters ahead of President Aquino's State of the Nation Address at the Batasan Pambansa Complex in Quezon City.

Abad, who wears a yellow ribbon pin indicating support for Aquino amid the outcry against DAP, said the Senate will soon learn the complete picture of the benefits of the mechanism.

"Kailangan lang siguro dito at mabigay sa Senado ang mga karagdagang impormasyon na kailangan para mabuo ang kuwento ng DAP," he said. "Kasi sa totoo lang maganda naman ang kuwento ng DAP e."

He attributed the growth in gross domestic product per capita, the slight reduction in poverty and the improvement in the quality of employment to the program.

The Supreme Court earlier this month ruled that certain acts and practices under the DAP since it was conceived in 2011 are unconstitutional, violating the separation of powers of the legislative and the executive. Critics also accused Aquino's government of giving away funds under the DAP as reward for the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.

Despite his repeated defense of DAP, Abad admitted that it taught the government to be more careful in devising and enacting policies.

"The issues just make us sharper and more prepared, more careful and more rigorous with our work. In fact in all of these things they make us a better government," he said.

In his SONA, Aquino trumpeted projects previously funded under DAP. He also asked for supplemental budget while citing the negative effects of the Supreme Court ruling to government "reforms."