SC set to tackle petitions vs DAP

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court (SC) is set to tackle petitions questioning the legality of President Aquino’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) today when justices resume session after over a month of recess.

The nine petitions against the DAP filed last year and heard in oral arguments last February were included in the over 100 items in the agenda of the high court’s session, according to an insider.

The source said the case has already been submitted for resolution, meaning a decision may be forthcoming.

Petitioners have alleged that the DAP violates the exclusive power of Congress to appropriate funds, just like in the case of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), declared unconstitutional by the high court last year.

The Office of the Solicitor General asked the high court to dismiss the petitions for being moot since DAP had already been abolished by the President.

Also in the agenda of the SC are the two petitions questioning the legality and seeking to stop the implementation of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) between the Philippines and the United States.

Petitioners former senators Rene Saguisag and Wigberto Tañada and militant Bayan Muna Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate argued that EDCA is unconstitutional since it is a basing agreement requiring Senate ratification as required by law.

The source said the SC is also expected to tackle petitions from senators Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla Jr. seeking to stop their indictment over the multibillion-peso PDAF scam.

Estrada and Revilla were accused of pocketing P183.79 million and P224.5 million, respectively, in kickbacks from pork-funded projects in connivance with alleged scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles.

Revilla’s former chief of staff and co-respondent Richard Cambe is also seeking similar relief from the SC.

The high court has deferred action on the prayer of the senator for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the ombudsman’s resolution last month finding probable cause in the plunder charges against him.

Before deciding on Revilla’s petition, the SC said it wanted to seek comments first from respondents ombudsman, the National Bureau of Investigation and lawyer Levito Baligod.

The SC agenda also includes the appeal of Globe Asiatique president Delfin Lee for an oral argument on his petition seeking to stop his indictment on syndicate estafa for his company’s alleged anomalous housing projects in Pampanga worth P6.6 billion.

Lastly, the SC is also set to tackle alleged case fixing in the judiciary reportedly perpetrated by a certain “Ma’am Arlene.”

An insider said an ad hoc committee chaired by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen had already submitted to the full court its findings and recommendations.

The panel earlier invited Arlene Lerma, a former employee at the Manila City Hall who was believed to be “Ma’am Arlene.”

The committee composed of Leonen and retired SC associate justices Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez and Romeo Callejo Sr. has had 13 closed-door sessions, a total of 32 resource persons – including SC officials and employees, justices of Court of Appeals, trial court judges and other government officials.