MANILA, (PNA) — Amid the raging debate on the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), Akbayan party list on Thursday warned the public not to be swayed by efforts from some quarters to use the issue to deflect attention on the plunder charges filed against several lawmakers involved in the multi-billion Janet Lim-Napoles pork barrel scam.
“Even as we seriously express our alarm and concern on the DAP, we should not forget that this issue was first raised by Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who together with other lawmakers were caught with their hands in the cookie jar. This is clearly an attempt to distract the public from the immediate objective of exacting accountability for their colossal crimes,” Akbayan Rep. Barry Gutierrez said in a statement.
“The public must not fall for Estrada’s diversionary tactic. We cannot realize our strategic reform goals if the immediate task of punishing these transgressors is sidelined,” Gutierrez said.
According to Gutierrez they call on the DBM to disclose all those who were given funds sourced from DAP and for the lawmakers and agencies who were recipients to report on the utilization of the funds. These reports will show whether or not the objectives of the DAP were achieved.
As a strong legislative response, he said it will press for the passage of House Bill No. 2256 or the Savings and Augmentation Bill and House Bill No. 2257 or the Impoundment Control Bill.
He said that the Impoundment Control Bill aims to regulate the Executive’s authority to defer, rescind and reserve expenditures already approved by Congress. It explained that uncertainty about the release of funds makes other branches of government vulnerable to being strong-armed by the Executive as the deferment, recession and reversion of funding becomes a tool for political manipulation.
On the other hand, the Savings and Augmentation Bill seeks to prevent the unscrupulous practice of realigning so-called savings to dubious allocations or reallocations.
He appealed to President Aquino to certify the bills as urgent, asserting that the issue must be taken as an opportunity to address the budget system’s institutional weaknesses.
“We must use this occasion to energize our call to advance fiscal democracy. And while these bills will definitely trim down the present Executive’s fiscal power, we are confident that President Aquino will see that this is part of the over-all campaign against corruption and impunity,” Gutierrez said.
He also called on the Aquino government to come out with a full and extensive explanation of the mechanisms and processes surrounding DAP and disclose everything.
“This is the time for thorough reckoning and reform. We call on the government to fully explain and disclose everything to assuage the understandable suspicion and fear from the public. The people can no longer be left in the dark regarding issues that have to do with their money,” Gutierrez said.
The group also called on the Executive to allocate future government savings pooled by DAP directly to agencies instead of channeling it through lawmakers.
“While we push for the realization of the necessary legislative policies to regulate the Executive’s fiscal powers, in the immediate, we call on the government to allocate savings solely to social service and development agencies,” Gutierrez said.
“The government can imitate the system set in place in the proposed 2014 budget when lawmakers decided to abolish PDAF and realign funds to agencies without any lump sum funds given to the lawmakers,” he concluded.