Puno: Stay vigilant vs PDAF, DAP by Kathlyn dela Cruz, ABS-CBNnews Posted at 07/16/2014 12:26 AM | Updated as of 07/17/2014 12:29 PM MANILA - Although the Supreme Court (SC) has declared lawmakers Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and parts of the Aquino administrations Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional, former Chief Justice Reynato Puno said the public should still remain vigilant. Speaking to ANCs Beyond Politics, Puno said the high courts rulings on the controversial funds are merely starting points. He said it is possible that the PDAF, which is more notoriously known as pork barrel, may come back in another form. Its always a possibility. There are no borders to our imagination, he said. The people should be on the lookout, should be vigilant that the budget that will come from Congress will follow the decisions of the high court, he said. Puno has been calling for a Peoples Initiative to abolish all forms of pork barrel in government. He said instead of going to the streets, the public can launch a Peoples Initiative and convene a Peoples Congress to push for budgetary reforms. He said it is a constitutional right of the people to exercise their sovereignty whenever...a branch of government like Congress refuses to exercise its constitutional duty. He said a coalition of like-minded people could craft and enact a law that will put an end to the abuses on the use of peoples money. The sovereignty of the people is the real soul of democracy, he added. Puno, however, admitted that launching a Peoples Initiative is a a difficult process. A petition would need the signatures of at least 10 percent of the countrys registered voters, and every legislative district must be represented by at least 3 percent. The Commission of Elections (Comelec) would then have to verify the signatures. SC ruling on DAP expected Meanwhile, Puno said the SCs ruling on the DAP did not come as surprising especially after it declared the PDAF as unconstitutional. After the PDAF decision, it was easy to anticipate the SC would not have a different ruling on the DAP. I would say that the issues raised by the petitioners in the DAP cases are more serious issues of constitutionality, he said. He noted that the projects funded by the lawmakers pork barrel funds were, at least, covered under the General Appropriations Act (GAA). This is unlike in the case of the DAP, wherein the funding of the projects was not covered by any appropriation in the GAA. Puno said it is clear in the Constitution that no public money shall be spent except on the basis of appropriation passed by Congress. The Aquino administration, for its part, has consistently claimed that it implemented the DAP in good faith in order to spur the countrys economic growth. But according to the former chief justice, determining good faith in the implementation of the DAP is a difficult subject matter. He said just because the DAP yielded some positive results on the countrys economy, it does not mean that the officials behind it will be cleared of any wrongdoing.
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 05:44:26 +0000
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