SC resets oral arguments on DAP

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) has reset the oral arguments on petitions questioning the legality of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

SC spokesman Theodore Te said the high court decided to move the debate from Nov. 11 to Nov. 19 at 2 p.m.

Te explained the high court had to close its offices yesterday afternoon due to inclement weather brought about by Super Typhoon Yolanda.

The resetting of oral arguments came even as petitions against the controversial scheme continued to flood the SC.

President Aquino earlier made a televised defense of DAP, saying the program’s purpose was to facilitate the release of funds for emergencies.

Last Thursday, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) filed its own petition against the DAP – the ninth so far.

In its 10-page petition, the group urged the high court to consider the alleged use of funds released through DAP by the Palace in influencing the outcome of the impeachment of former chief justice Renato Corona last year.

“The respondents cannot just squander and spend public funds based on their whims and caprices, such as their desire to oust then chief justice Corona,” the petitioner alleged.

“Since DAP was not validly enacted by law, it is not a law. Its existence, including its implementation, is in violation of the Constitution and the general appropriation law,” VACC pointed out.

But former budget chief Salvador Enriquez Jr. said DAP is legal and constitutional and that realigning and disbursing government savings are well within the authority of Malacañang.

Enriquez said the DAP “was merely a label” for the use of savings and unprogrammed funds in the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“The DAP is not a fund that has not been appropriated by Congress. It is not a ‘budget within a budget’ as claimed by petitioners,” Enriquez said.

“The DAP is merely an administrative system of prioritizing spending to speed up public spending, push economic growth, and promote prudent fiscal management,” he said.

Enriquez also said the National Budget Circular 541, which in effect created the DAP, is also legal and constitutional. – With Paolo Romero, Dino Balabo