SUPREME COURT ACTS UNDER DAP UNCONSTITUTIONAL By Camille Diola (philstar) | Updated July 1, 2014 - 1:54pm MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court declared unconstitutional acts and practices under the Aquino administrations Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), dubbed a form of pork barrel, on Tuesday. Voting unanimously, 13 of the high courts magistrates ruled that the executive branch overstepped its powers using the lump sum funds under the program. Justice Teresita Leonardo-De Castro inhibited from voting. [The Supreme Court] voids three acts and practices under the DAP, [National Budget Circular] No. 541 and related issuances, spokesman Theodore Te said in a statement. Also voided was the use of unprogrammed funds despite the absence of a certification by the National Treasurer that the revenue collections exceeded the revenue targets, it added. The ruling indicates that the Department of Budget and Management allowed the use of funds without clearance that those funds came from government savings. The main text of the decision is still being edited as of posting time. Headlines ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1 The Tuesday ruling was a decision on the nine petitions filed before the court questioning the constitutional validity of DAP. The DAP was bared to the public when Senator Jinggoy Estrada claimed that Aquinos allies used the DAP to pay off lawmakers to convict ousted Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012. DBM, however, denied bribing senators and said the program was established to fuel spending to boost the economy.
Posted on: Wed, 02 Jul 2014 23:35:12 +0000
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