MANILA, Philippines - No controversy has been more devastating to the administration of President Aquino than the funding animal Budget Secretary Florencio Abad created in late 2011 – the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
But unlike in the case of the Supreme Court’s voiding of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) that Aquino readily accepted, the Chief Executive braced for a head-on clash with the SC over DAP.
Aquino even appeared on national television to question the unanimous decision of the high tribunal. His allies in the House of Representatives would later move to cut the judiciary’s budget and the discretionary Judiciary Development Fund.
The SC declared unconstitutional “cross border” practices by the executive department, and nullified the policy of the administration to declare savings even at the early stage of the fiscal year without having to wait for the year to end.
Justices held that transfer of funds from the executive department to the legislative and to the judiciary, or to other independent constitutional bodies like the Office of the Ombudsman and Commission on Audit, would no longer be allowed.
The 11 magistrates who voted against DAP in July included Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and the President’s three other appointees.
At the height of the DAP controversy, Abad offered to resign but was prevailed upon to stay by Aquino.
Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Kim Henares announced her agency would verify the statements of assets, liabilities and net worth of the magistrates, ostensibly for transparency purposes.
In defending DAP, the President said he did not steal anything, unlike those implicated in the pork barrel scam, referring apparently to opposition senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr.
The three are in detention along with PDAF scam alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles and several others.
Still popular
While the controversies over DAP and PDAF have affected public perception of the President, his popularity remains high, at least based on latest survey results.
And while the nation had become apathetic, especially toward the end of the Arroyo regime in 2010 due to a string of corruption and other scandals, Filipinos now appear to be watching with interest developments in the remaining months of the Aquino administration.
Already, there are questions on whether new faces will get to be part of his team since some members of the Cabinet are seen to be eyeing elective posts in May 2016.
Vice President Jejomar Binay, a member of his Cabinet and a declared presidential candidate in 2016, is keeping good relations with Aquino. But how long this will last is again a subject of speculation since the Vice President belongs to an opposition political party.
With the political controversies came Typhoon Ruby, the devastation of which threatened growth and put to another test the country’s resilience. This time, unlike during the onslaught of Super Typhoon Yolanda, the country was generally more prepared.
In his Christmas message, Aquino said 2014 brought another seemingly “insurmountable challenge: While the Visayas continues on the track of recovery from Yolanda, Ruby threatened to dismantle what we had already started to rebuild.”
“But we have soldiered on. Through our solidarity and His benevolence, we gained the strength and wisdom to lead our people away from peril…Together, let us shepherd our nation forward along the straight and righteous path towards the brighter, more equitably progressive future we rightfully deserve,” Aquino said.
More positive developments are expected in 2015, with the visit of Pope Francis in January as opening salvo. The country will also be hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in November.
Fortunately for Aquino, some developments in 2014 allowed him and members of his team to rebound. In the latest Social Weather Stations survey, Aquino’s satisfaction rating improved in the fourth quarter of this year.
The SWS fourth quarter poll found that 63 percent of respondents were satisfied with Aquino’s performance, while 24 percent were dissatisfied. Aquino scored his all-time high of a “very good” +62 average in the last two quarters of 2010, when he first took office.
One of his major achievements was the signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro in March. He said he would also like Congress to act promptly on various economic bills to ensure unhampered growth.
Positive developments
Among the notable positive developments were the country’s hosting of the World Economic Forum on East Asia, the economic growth despite the disasters that hit the country, credit ratings upgrades as well as the President’s trips abroad that generated good news and investments.
US President Barack Obama’s state visit to the country in April was also seen as a positive development. It was during the visit that the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between Manila and Washington was signed. The EDCA was signed amid unresolved issues with China over the latter’s expansive claims in the West Philippine Sea.