Palace Defers Comment on SC Decision on DAP Until Full Text is Read

Manila — Malacañang has yet to read the full text of the Supreme Court decision Tuesday declaring unconstitutional some provisions of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Presidential Communication Operations Office (PCOO) Secretary Herminio “Sonny” Coloma, in a statement on Tuesday evening, said the Palace will await the official copy of the SC decision “then review it to be able to understand its implications.”

The SC declared unconstitutional some provisions of the DAP, among them, the withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies and their declaration as savings, and the funding of projects, activities and programs not covered by the General Appropriations Act (GAA).

“We will defer comment until we’ve read the full text of the decision,” said Deputy Presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte.

For his part, Budget and Management Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad, in a text message to the Philippines News Agency, said he has yet to read the full text of the High Court decision.

“I reserve my comments until I read the full text of the (SC) decision,” he said.

Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda earlier said the government strongly believed that the discretionary fund has benefited the country

“When we started, there was a very low GDP (gross domestic product). We implemented the DAP and it contributed to the various programs of the government, the various agencies,” he said.

Lacierda said the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) was prepared to defend the legality of President Benigno S. Aquino’s discretionary fund.

Conceptualized in September 2011, the DAP is a stimulus package designed to fast-track public spending and push economic growth. This covers high-impact budgetary programs and projects which will be augmented out of the savings generated during the year and additional revenue sources. (PNA) LGI/FPV/LDV