Skip to content

Philippines Today

home of the Global Filipino

Menu
  • News Stories
  • Regional News
  • Business & Economy
  • Science & Technology
  • International
Menu

SC ruling on DAP cannot be used to impeach President Aquino — Speaker Belmonte

Posted on July 1, 2014

By Sammy F. Martin

MANILA, July 1 (PNA) — The decision made by the Supreme Court declaring portion of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as “unconstitutional” could not be used to impeach President Benigno Aquino III.

“No, he (President Aquino) cannot be impeached,” said Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr.,, in a text message on Tuesday when asked for a reaction on the High Court decision on DAP.

Belmonte said the SC decision is not retroactive and only explains that it only becomes effective from the time it was ruled.

This was also the view of Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo claiming that any impeachment filed on the basis of the SC decision has no basis in law or in jurisprudence.

According to the Constitution, Quimbo said, an offense may only be considered impeachable, if the violation of the Constitution is culpable.

“It is culpable according to jurisprudence if the violation is so blatant and clear that it smacks of an intentional violation of clear and unequivocal laws. There is nothing clear as far as the rules on how savings are to be used or allocated under our tripartite system. On the contrary, DAP was simply an attempt by the administration to formalize the practice being done by previous administrations. Prior to the decision, it was in fact legal. These circumstances clearly will not make DAP of such a character as to make it a culpable violation of the Constitution,” he explained.

When asked if Budget and Management Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad could be liable, the senior House official said, the DBM chief “cannot be held liable for any wrong-doing as the policy of DAP is founded on legal basis and was done in good faith.”

“One only becomes liable for willful and culpable violations of clear and indubitable rules. Any position to the contrary is not founded in law or jurisprudence,” he said.

For his p‎art, Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello said he thinks “the President is not in danger of impeachment.”

“The SC ruling is not retroactive but covers actions from the time of the ruling,” he noted.

Bello also stressed that the SC ruling “carries liability only from hereon, from the time of the ruling.”

“The SC ruling clarified the status of a practice. So the Executive now has a clear ruling on which to base its future actions,” he said. (PNA)

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • More
  • Tumblr
  • Reddit

Related

News Categories

  • Announcement (34)
  • Business & Economy (1,567)
  • Comment and Opinion (74)
    • Random Thoughts (18)
  • Current Issues (425)
    • Charter Change (1)
    • Election (228)
    • Population (6)
  • International (389)
  • Life In Japan (66)
    • Everything Japan (41)
  • Literary (34)
  • Miscellaneous (610)
  • News Stories (5,312)
  • OFW Corner (297)
  • Others (75)
  • People (408)
  • Press Releases (163)
  • Regional News (3,362)
  • Science and Technology (502)
  • Sports & Entertainment (287)

Latest News

  • BSP keeps policy rates anew December 17, 2015
  • NEDA cuts PHL additional rice import for 2016 by 25% December 17, 2015
  • DA cites serious implications of banning genetically modified products December 17, 2015
  • BBL is not yet dead – Drilon December 17, 2015
  • Comelec recognizes Duterte’s CoC for president December 17, 2015
  • NEDA chief sees 2015 growth at 6% despite typhoons December 17, 2015
  • House of Representatives ratifies bicam report on P3.002-T national budget for 2016 December 17, 2015
  • Cebu-based developer invests PHP430M to build 709 townhouse units in north Cebu town December 17, 2015
  • City gov’t eyes P75-M income from economic enterprise December 17, 2015
  • Baguio City LGU presents traffic plan for holiday season December 17, 2015

Archives

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Science and Technology

  • DOST-ICTO targets 500,000 web-based workers from countryside by 2016
  • (Feature) STARBOOKS: A ‘makeover’ for librarians
  • Science, research reduce ‘cocolisap’ hotspot areas in PHL
  • Montejo to further improve PAGASA and empower scientists
  • 1st PPP in biomedical research produces knee replacement system fit for Asians

Press Releases

  • Microsoft to buy Nokia’s mobile devices business for 5.44-B euros
  • New World Bank climate change report should spur SEA and world leaders into action: Greenpeace
  • Save the Philippine Seas before it’s too late — Greenpeace
  • Palanca Awards’ last call for entries
  • Philippines joins the global call for Arctic protection

Comment and Opinion

  • Remembering the dead is a celebration of life
  • Killer earthquake unlikely to hit Panay Island in near future – analyst
  • It’s not just more fun to invest in the Philippines, it is also profitable, says President Aquino
  • How does one differentiate a tamaraw from a carabao?
  • Fun is not just about the place, it is also about the people, says DOT chief

OFW Corner

  • Ebola infection risk low in Croatia
  • Death toll rises to 41, over 100 still missing in landslide in India
  • Asbestos use in construction a labor hazard
  • 500,000 OFWs to benefit POEA on-line transactions — Baldoz
  • 25 distressed OFWs return home from Riyadh
©2025 Philippines Today | Design: Newspaperly WordPress Theme