I’ve often wondered when President Rodrigo Duterte would get around to looking into the late, unlamented Disbursement Acceleration Program, that novel method of spending government funds by seizing the budgets of agencies that had been given the money and allocating it somewhere else. Duterte, who has always tried to avoid directly confronting his predecessor about the scandals that bedeviled it, finally took aim at DAP last weekend.
During a press conference in Cagayan de Oro City, Duterte said he has proof that former President Noynoy Aquino, his Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and at least one senator, Antonio Trillanes IV, abused DAP “like nobody’s business.” This happened, the President said, even after the Supreme Court had declared the program unconstitutional.
According to a suit for plunder earlier filed against Aquino, Abad and other officials involved in the controversial expenditure program before the Ombudsman, fully P142.23 billion was spent through DAP in the first three years of the previous administration. To put that in context, the so-called pork barrel scam ran by jailed businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles was supposed to have stolen P10 billion in government funds earmarked for projects identified by members of Congress.
Even if it was true, as Aquino claimed shortly after the DAP controversy broke, that only 9 percent of the program’s funds were diverted to members of Congress to pay for their pet projects, the amount would still be more than all the pork allegedly stolen from the pork barrel funds by Napoles. And that still would not include the 91 percent of the money that was “impounded” by Aquino from agencies that could not spend the funds in as little as six months after receiving them that has mostly been unaccounted for.
What makes Duterte’s claim that DAP was illegally used even more compelling was the March 3 decision of Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales clearing Aquino and all other officials except Abad of charges that they misused DAP. Morales gave Abad the equivalent of a slap on the wrist, finding evidence that the former budget chief could only be held liable for usurpation of Congress’ power to legislate and demanding that he forfeit three months’ salary, even if he was no longer in government.
Perhaps Duterte has had enough of Trillanes’ brand of criticism, which is why the President is only now threatening to present proof that the senator pocketed DAP funds. But that is a minor issue for me and many other Filipinos who have nearly given up the hope that Aquino, Abad and many other officials of the previous government will finally be haled to court to answer the very serious charges leveled against them.
If Duterte really has the goods on DAP that could throw Aquino and his minions in jail and has decided to reveal them, I’ll even send a thank-you note to Trillanes for getting the president’s goat. After all, in many instances in the past, Duterte has expressed a palpable lack of interest in pursuing charges against his immediate predecessor.
But just like the effort to impeach Vice President Leni Robredo cannot be stopped by Duterte, the move to hold Aquino accountable for the sins his administration committed is not really dependent on the desires of the incumbent. And Aquino must certainly be made to answer for DAP, now that he no longer enjoys immunity from suit.
Duterte needn’t bother acting as the prosecutor of Aquino, just like Aquino made it his business to personally go after his own predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. In fact, the focus on political vendetta during the Aquino years was largely responsible for the lack of any real accomplishment by the feckless only son of Cory.
Duterte only has to turn over whatever evidence he has on DAP to the proper prosecuting authorities and he can continue doing the work that he needs to do to improve the economy and solve the problems of illegal drugs, criminality and corruption. The courts will do the rest.
What Duterte shouldn’t do is to make people believe that he is serious in making Aquino, Abad and, yes, Trillanes, among others, account for DAP and then fail to follow through. That would be allowing the theft of government money—and Duterte knows that he can’t be accused of turning a blind eye to corruption.
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Speaking of Aquino, his remaining sympathizers are having a field day throwing shade at the rally held by the people who want to impeach Robredo held at Manila’s Rizal Park last Sunday. The Yellows have taken issue with everything that supposedly went wrong at the rally, from the alleged small size of the crowd, how government funds were reportedly used to fund it and even how it was really a thinly-disguised venue to call for the installation of Bongbong Marcos as Vice President.
I honestly don’t understand why the Yellows, whose last protest action was that miserable eyeball at the People Power Monument last February, can’t even judge a rally using the same standards that they use for their own. As I recall, that rally was not only embarrassingly poorly-attended, it was also marred by accusations among the organizers that money promised to the people who would attend had been pocketed by some enterprising Yellow leaders.
The Yellows should really stop lying about the pro-Duterte majority already. They’re not even convincing themselves anymore.