Budget Secretary Florencio Abad still enjoys the trust and confidence of President Aquino amid calls for him to resign following a Supreme Court ruling declaring certain acts under the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) unconstitutional, Malacañang said yesterday. In a press briefing, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said Abad or any other official need not resign despite the SC’s decision because the program “was meant to accelerate projects that would benefit the country.” Lacierda said that what is unconstitutional may not necessarily be illegal. “When you speak of unconstitutionality, it does not immediately equate to wrongdoing,” he said, stressing that Palace officials have yet to see the entire SC ruling. Abad, meanwhile, promised to issue a statement on the issue “once I get the full text of the SC decision.” Senate President Franklin Drilon, for his part, maintained that every centavo of the P100 million he received under DAP was properly accounted for. Asked about delicadeza and punishment for wrongdoers, Lacierda said “our position is that we have used the funds for its intended purpose of accelerating projects – projects like building school buildings, providing Doppler radar – to the benefit of the Filipino people and we cannot step back and say we regret doing those things that benefited the people.”
Posted on: Thu, 03 Jul 2014 01:46:04 +0000
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