PNoy not ill-advised on DAP, Abad insists

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad on Thursday denied that President Benigno Aquino III was ill-advised on the implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program.

 

“Hindi ko alam kung ang Pangulo ay ill-advised. [The] Supreme Court, in its decision, said that indisputably, the DAP served the country well,” Abad said in answering the question of Senator Jose Victor Ejercito at the hearing of the Senate finance committee.

 

Abad stressed that despite the fact that the administration did not increase taxes, except the sin tax, “we are able to increase our investments in key priorities of the government.”

 

He cited the increase in the number of beneficiaries of the conditional cash transfer program to 4.3 million, construction of classrooms and school buildings and hiring of teachers, and more public health services provided to the people.

 

He also said that the Cabinet helped the government through increased revenue collection.

 

“Because we are collecting taxes well, yan ay sa BIR. Ang Customs umakyat ng 20 percent ang collection by June. We now have more funds for the priorities of the government. Ang Gabinete ay tunay na tumutulong. Kung hindi ay hindi po magagawa ang mga iyan,” said Abad. — RSJ, GMA News