President Benigno S. Aquino III graces the launching of the NHCP Coffee Table Book entitled “A Sense of Nation: The Birthright of Rizal, Bonifacio and Mabini” during the commemoration of the 118th Philippine Independence Day Celebration at the Rizal National Monument, Rizal Park in Manila City on Sunday (June 12). With this year’s theme: “Kalayaan 2016: Pagkakaisa, Pag-Aambagan, Pagsulong”. Also in photo is National Historical Commission of the Philippines chairperson Dr. Maria Serena Diokno. (MNS photo)
MANILA (Mabuhay) – Several groups on Friday filed charges against former President Benigno Aquino III and former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad before the Office of the Ombudsman over the implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program, some parts of which were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2014.
Aquino and Abad were charged with technical malversation, usurpation of legislative powers, and graft and corruption by complainants led by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, Bagong Alyansang Makabayan and Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption.
“The DAP was nothing but a presidential pork taken from forced savings then realigned for pet projects of the President. It was not a stimulus program as many of the projects approved by Aquino had nothing to do with stimulating the economy,” said Zarate.
This was the second criminal complaint filed against Aquino since he stepped down from power and lost immunity from suit on June 30.
Last week, two relatives of the 44 police commandos killed in the 2015 Mamasapano incident filed multiple homicide charges, citing Aquino’s approval of the operation which the complainants described as “flawed.”
Aquino dismissed the complaint as mere harassment.
The SC ruled against the constitutionality of some aspects of the DAP in 2014 but modified it in February 2015 after the government filed an appeal.
In its modified ruling, the high court said DAP authors could be held liable “unless there are concrete findings of good faith in their favor by the proper tribunals determining their criminal, civil, administrative and other liabilities.”
The presumption of good faith in the implementation of DAP-related projects still stands, according to the SC.
Some P144 billion was spent for projects under the DAP, an economic stimulus package which only became public after Senator Jinggoy Estrada revealed in 2013 that a portion of the funds was used to bribe senators to support the impeachment of the late Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.
The Aquino administration denied this claim, noting the DAP was instrumental in boosting economic growth from 3.7 percent in 2011 to 6.8 percent in 2012. (MNS)