President Benigno S. Aquino III, accompanied by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin and AFP Chief Emmanuel Bautista, tour the Asian Defense, Security and Crisis Management Exhibition 2014 held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City on Thursday (July 17). (MNS photo)
TANAUAN CITY, Batangas (Mabuhay) – President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday used principles from Filipino hero Apolinario Mabini, whose 150th birth anniversary is being commemorated here, to justify his administration’s Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
In a speech to commemorate the hero’s sesquicentennial, Aquino said Mabini himself pushed for a proactive executive branch before the Malolos Congress, the legislature of the First Philippine Republic founded in 1898.
“Sa harap ng Malolos Congress, idiniin ni Mabini ang pangangailangan ng ehekutibong maging mabilis, maliksi, at buo ang loob, dahil trabaho nitong matugunan ang pangangailangan ng taumbayan sa lalong madaling panahon,” the President said.
He added that Mabini wanted flexibility for the executive to implement programs to help the public.
“Ang mga institusyong pampubliko para sa kapakanan ng taumbayan; kung ganoon, hindi marapat na ang mismong mga sistemang panggobyerno ang pipigil sa paghahatid ng benepisyo,” Aquino said.
The President also highlighted Mabini’s anti-corruption principle, which he said is still applicable to the government at present.
“Si Mabini rin po ang nagpunla ng konsepto ng serbisyong pampubliko sa ating pambansang kamalayan. Ang paniniwala niya: Kung sa taumbayan nagbubukal ang kapangyarihan, dapat lang itong gamitin sa ikabubuti nila… Iginiit ni Mabini: Walang sinumang may karapatang pagkakitaan ang kanyang posisyon sa pamahalaan,”
Earlier this month, the SC announced that it has declared certain acts under the government’s DAP as unconstitutional, including 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.
Malacañang has since appealed the high court’s decision. (MNS)