Human Rights Online Philippines

Labor tells Lacierda to “shut up” on DAP without audit and investigation

A LABOR group assailed Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda for clearing Budget Secretary Butch Abad on any wrongdoing in the implementation of his brainchild, the Disbursement Acceleration Program or the DAP, this after Lacierda claimed that the Executive branch’s allotment of 91% of the entire DAP was accounted.

The Supreme Court en banc has decided that the DAP to be partly unconstitutional last week.

“It seems that Lacierda is on automatic deception mode. Whenever there are inquiries to the disbursement of public funds by the Executive branch, he is quick to denying any violations whatsoever without any proof or investigation, said Gie Relova of Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP).

The Commission on Audit recently found disclosed that there are irregularities in the usage of the 1.1 billion peso DAP budget of the TESDA in 2011. The TESDA is headed by Liberal Party member Joel Villanueva.

He added that, “It is not difficult to conclude that Lacierda may have been given the blanket authority by the President himself to vouch for Abad and other cabinet members. Lacierda’s assurance is all gibberish and a clear waste of taxpayers’ money”.

Abad issued National Budget Circular No. 541 and other issuances, authorizing the use of unused public funds.

The group noted that without any impartial investigation by state agencies or any independent body, the Palace spokespersons have been covering for Abad and President Noynoy Aquino ever since the DAP was first disclosed in a privilege speech of Senator Jinggoy Estrada in September last year.

“May I remind Mr. Lacierda that he is a Presidential spokesperson and he must be prudent enough before releasing irresponsible and leading statements to the public without a formal impartial investigation,” the labor leader warned.

The group also said that with the way the Palace has been mishandling the issue, people have grown wary of the prospects in achieving justice for the wholesale and systematic abuse of power by Executive officials led by Aquino and Abad.

The BMP likewise claimed that besides the gross abuse of the authority, state agencies must also divulge the personalities and companies involved in the DAP-funded “fast-moving projects”.

“In the world of auditing, the devil is in the details. The nation wants to know who Aquino’s cronies are,” Relova said.

He insisted that the public must be informed where the funds were spent and who were awarded and those who benefitted from such projects because, “clearly no amount of Lacierda’s words will be enough to assure the back-breaking work of the tax-paying public.

Contact person:
Gie Relova- 0915-2862555
Secretary-General Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino-NCRR

Press Release
10 July 2014

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