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PNoy assails SC, to appeal DAP ruling
By ANDREO CALONZO, GMA News
(Updated 7:54 p.m.) President Benigno Aquino III on Monday openly criticized the Supreme Court over its decision to declare the administration's Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as partially unconstitutional.
In a televised speech, the President said the executive branch would appeal the DAP ruling because the Supreme Court essentially ignored the administration's main arguments to support its controversial spending mechanism.
Aquino said the Supreme Court ruling was difficult to understand.
"Ang mensahe ko po sa Korte Suprema: Ayaw nating umabot pa sa puntong magbabanggaan ang dalawang magkapantay na sangay ng gobyerno, kung saan kailangan pang mamagitan ng ikatlong sangay ng gobyerno.Mahirap pong maintindihan ang desisyon ninyo," Aquino said.
"Mayroon din kasi kayong ginawa dati, na sinubukan ninyong gawin ulit, at may nagsasabi pang mas matindi ito base sa desisyong inilabas ninyo kamakailan lang," Aquino said without going into detail.
Aquino said the executive trusted that what the judiciary did was proper based on the principle of “presumption of regularity,” especially since it was supposedly more competent in the ways of the law.
"Ngayong kami naman ang may ipinatupad—na kayo na rin ang nasabing nakabuti sa mamamayan—bakit mali na ngayon ang aming ginawa?" Aquino added.
In justifying the DAP, Aquino said a provision in the 1987 Administrative Code gave him the authority to transfer savings to a project under any department or government branch.
"Nagulat nga po kami nang makita naming hindi naisa-alang-alang sa desisyon ng Korte Supreme ang ginamit naming batayan ng DAP. Paano kaya nila nasabing unconstitutional ang aming paraan ng paggastos gayong hindi man lang nila tinalakay ang aming pinagbatayan?" Aquino said.
He particularly cited Book VI, Chapter 5, Section 39 of the Administrative Code, which said: "Except as otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act, any savings in the regular appropriations authorized in the General Appropriations Act for programs and projects of any department, office or agency, may, with the approval of the President, be used to cover a deficit in any other item of the regular appropriations."
Aquino's stand was in direct contrast with the SC ruling on the DAP, which struck down the transfer of funds from of one government branch to another as unconstitutional.
In its decision, the high court argued that so-called "cross-border transfers" violated the 1987 Constitution because it gave the executive "unrestricted" spending power that "would threaten to undo the principle of separation of powers."
Aquino, in his speech, maintained that it is was lawful to tap savings and funds from slow-moving projects for other projects in any agency or branch of government.
Contrary to the SC's decision, Aquino added that it was legal to tap unprogrammed or stand-by allocations and funds for slow-moving projects to fund other projects.
In a televised speech, the President said the executive branch would appeal the DAP ruling because the Supreme Court essentially ignored the administration's main arguments to support its controversial spending mechanism.
Aquino said the Supreme Court ruling was difficult to understand.
"Ang mensahe ko po sa Korte Suprema: Ayaw nating umabot pa sa puntong magbabanggaan ang dalawang magkapantay na sangay ng gobyerno, kung saan kailangan pang mamagitan ng ikatlong sangay ng gobyerno.Mahirap pong maintindihan ang desisyon ninyo," Aquino said.
In his speech, Aquino also vaguely referred to something that the SC supposedly did worse than DAP.
Aquino said the executive trusted that what the judiciary did was proper based on the principle of “presumption of regularity,” especially since it was supposedly more competent in the ways of the law.
"Ngayong kami naman ang may ipinatupad—na kayo na rin ang nasabing nakabuti sa mamamayan—bakit mali na ngayon ang aming ginawa?" Aquino added.
The President also called on the SC not to stand in the way of the reforms being implemented by his administration.
"Naniniwala naman akong karamihan sa inyo, tulad namin, ay naghahangad ng kabutihan para sa taumbayan. Sa mga kagalang-galang na mahistrado ng Korte Suprema: Tulungan niyo naman kaming tulungan ang ating mga kababayan," he said.
"Huwag ninyo naman sana kaming hadlangan. Hindi ba dapat kasama namin kayo sa repormang ito? Tapusin na natin ang sistemang nagpapahamak sa taumbayan," he added.
SC shunned Administrative Code provision
On July 1, the SC announced that it found certain acts under the government's DAP as unconstitutional. These include the declaration of unobligated and unprogrammed funds as savings, the transfers of savings from one government branch to another, and the funding of projects not stated in the national budget.
Malacañang has repeatedly said that the DAP was undertaken in good faith to boost the country's economic performance.
SC shunned Administrative Code provision
In justifying the DAP, Aquino said a provision in the 1987 Administrative Code gave him the authority to transfer savings to a project under any department or government branch.
"Nagulat nga po kami nang makita naming hindi naisa-alang-alang sa desisyon ng Korte Supreme ang ginamit naming batayan ng DAP. Paano kaya nila nasabing unconstitutional ang aming paraan ng paggastos gayong hindi man lang nila tinalakay ang aming pinagbatayan?" Aquino said.
He particularly cited Book VI, Chapter 5, Section 39 of the Administrative Code, which said: "Except as otherwise provided in the General Appropriations Act, any savings in the regular appropriations authorized in the General Appropriations Act for programs and projects of any department, office or agency, may, with the approval of the President, be used to cover a deficit in any other item of the regular appropriations."
Aquino's stand was in direct contrast with the SC ruling on the DAP, which struck down the transfer of funds from of one government branch to another as unconstitutional.
In its decision, the high court argued that so-called "cross-border transfers" violated the 1987 Constitution because it gave the executive "unrestricted" spending power that "would threaten to undo the principle of separation of powers."
Aquino, in his speech, maintained that it is was lawful to tap savings and funds from slow-moving projects for other projects in any agency or branch of government.
Contrary to the SC's decision, Aquino added that it was legal to tap unprogrammed or stand-by allocations and funds for slow-moving projects to fund other projects.
‘Win-win situation’
He said that using these fund sources for projects under the DAP was a "win-win situation" for the government and the public.
"Hindi po ba tama na ang pondong nakatengga lang ay ipagkaloob natin sa mga napatunayan nang epektibo ang programa?" Aquino said.
"Sa tuwing may ganitong savings ang gobyerno, sa tuwing natutulog ang pera ng bayan, mayroon tayong boss na napagkakaitan ng benepisyo," he added.
In its ruling, the SC said using unprogrammed allocations for the DAP was "invalid" because the executive had not yet exceeded its revenue targets when it spent these funds--a clear condition under the law.
The SC also ruled that savings can only be declared at the end of each fiscal year when the purpose of funds have already been satisfied, or when the need for such funds had ceased to exist,
"For us to consider unreleased appropriations as savings, unless these met the statutory definition of savings, would seriously undecut the congressional power of the purse," the high court said in its DAP ruling.
Aquino, however, said that waiting for a fiscal year to lapse before tapping savings would delay the delivery of services to Filipinos.
"Wala po akong makitang dahilan na i-antala ang benepisyo, lalo pa't may kakayahan tayong gawin ito. Malinaw na kapag hindi mo agad naiparating ang benepisyo, pinahaba mo rin ang pagdurusa ng Pilipino," he said. —KBK/NB, GMA News
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