‘Go ahead, impeach me’

No bribes, CJ deserved ouster – Noy

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino dared yesterday those accusing him of misusing public funds to file an impeachment case against him “if they think that is the right thing to do.”

He categorically denied that he bribed lawmakers to have Renato Corona ousted as chief justice.

Aquino maintained there was nothing illegal in the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) of the administration that was created to pump-prime the economy, which was sluggish in his first year as President supposedly due to underspending.

“Don’t you check when (the funds) were released? Mr. Corona was impeached in May so the release, if I remember right, was in October. So can there be a bribe after the fact?” Aquino asked in an ambush interview after addressing the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals at the SMX Mall of Asia in Pasay City.

The President also justified both his decision to support the impeachment and conviction of Corona as well as the DAP that he said was lawful and used judiciously.

Aquino said Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago and former senator Joker Arroyo could push for his impeachment if they believed they were right in calling the DAP illegal and unconstitutional.

“But I just read the Constitution, there is an authority to put savings to other uses, as long as it is in our budget,” Aquino said.

Asked if he was confident about the legal basis of the DAP, Aquino said: “Yes.”

He said the funds were allocated for projects that were already authorized by Congress.

“And since they are both senators (in 2011 when DAP was first implemented) one would assume that they were either supportive of the budget or they were not successful in thwarting the budget,” Aquino said.

In another forum with those who attended the event, Aquino said: “We impeached a Supreme Court chief justice who had lost his way.”

Corona was removed from office for failing to declare his statements of assets, liabilities and net worth truthfully.

“We have a new Supreme Court chief justice who is hopefully leading the judiciary in the right path,” Aquino said.

The President said despite many obstacles, they insisted on making the necessary reforms in the judiciary that included the removal of Corona.

He said the reforms were still a work in progress.

“At the end of the day, sovereignty resides in the people, the people decide where we will go,” Aquino said.

No ‘pork barrel king’

The President said there was no way he could be accused of pocketing or misusing funds either of the DAP or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers.

He did not deserve the “pork barrel king” moniker, the President said.

He explained that there was no reenacted budget during his time that could have generated savings and which he could use based solely on his discretion.

The Malampaya funds, among other lump sum appropriations for his office, were also being used properly, Aquino noted.

“We do not want reenacted budget either in full or in part. We strive to have the budget enacted at the right time so we will not have the ability to distribute funds in an instant,” Aquino said.

He cited as example his strict use of the Malampaya funds for “energy and other purposes.”

Aquino said the records would show where the money went and all of it was indeed energy-related.

The President said Malampaya funds were used for sitio electrification, security of Malampaya fields, capability upgrades of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and to address the power shortage in Mindanao, among others.

Aquino said no one forced him to strip himself of the power to have funds that he could draw for instant distribution and for his self-interest.

“Nobody taught me that, nobody insisted. So I did a lot of things and now they would call me pork barrel king,” he said.

The President said despite the executive branch’s discretion in releasing the budget, they have been very careful in spending to make sure they could defend it anytime and before any critics.

Aquino lamented the people have short memory and were now criticizing what had been explained since 2011.

He said DAP was implemented because of the low absorptive capacity of some government agencies and which negatively affected the economy.

The President explained that while some departments or agencies were efficient, there was a need to accelerate spending so the economy would grow faster.

He said the DAP was planned for several years but was designed to be carried out in a shorter period of time if there was funding support.

The President said the funding was authorized and approved by Congress and the delivery of programs and projects was only accelerated. The lawmakers who received funds for the DAP only identified projects in different areas to expedite and ramp up spending.

Punish the corrupt

Aquino vowed to make those guilty of misusing the pork barrel fund or PDAF accountable under the law.

“I think we are doing everything that is allowable under our system, under our laws, to prosecute those who are guilty. But to have successful prosecution, we really need to have strong evidence. Then the whole court process itself is a very lengthy process,” he said.

“Now, if instead of focusing on what had been done previously, perhaps we should be focusing on what is currently being done to ensure that such opportunities no longer exist, because we really are serious in our commitment to everybody that every peso goes into a rightful purpose,” the President added.

He also pointed out the administration could not undertake the reforms alone, especially since the actions of those from other branches of government, “to a large degree,” were beyond them.

“It was the population also that brought them into their positions. There are elections constantly in our country – every three years, in fact – perhaps we should start with making sure that the next batch that we elect will be unquestioned,” Aquino said.

“That, I think, is the real answer. If you rely on just one sector, then obviously, the process will take much longer and the fight will be that much harder,” he said.

Aquino said despite controversies and his decision to abolish PDAF, his office supported the House of Representatives in seeking the lifting of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the pork barrel for scholars and indigent patients needing medical assistance.

He said the scholars had nothing to do with the irregularities committed by some officials and they should not suffer from lack of funding.

The President said he had it studied if it was legal to continue these scholarships through other funds of government.

“I am still awaiting the answer. But we did make a representation with the Supreme Court, detailing that problem of scholars, and also those who are undergoing medical treatment whose medical treatment should not be interrupted,” Aquino said.

“We are appealing to the Supreme Court to look at the effect on our citizens of this TRO and we are hoping that they will either lift those specific items or, if not, there is other funding that we may be able to use, so that the services that are provided to these citizens will not be interrupted,” Aquino said.

Prudence

Sen. Ralph Recto said yesterday that it would have been better if the executive branch, especially the budget department, and some senators exercised prudence in the disbursement of pork barrel funds during and after the impeachment trial of Corona.

Recto made the assertion when sought for comment over the revelations of former senator Joker Arroyo that the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) released over P500 million in PDAF before the conviction of Corona sometime in April and May last year.

Recto said he did not submit a request for release of his PDAF allocations out of prudence.

“I did not submit a request because it does not look good. I don’t say that the others were wrong,” Recto said.

Recto explained that asking for funds at the height of the impeachment trial was not a good move.

“I know there was impeachment. To me prudence dictates that I did not request. Maybe the others requested earlier and it released at that time,” Recto said.

Recto is not among the 11 senators who got releases out of their PDAF before the Senate, sitting as an impeachment court, handed down the guilty verdict against Corona. He said, however, that such PDAF releases should not be misconstrued as bribing any of the senator-judges.

Arroyo said that based on the DBM website, over P500 million in PDAF were divided among now Senate President Franklin Drilon (P40 million), Senators Francis Escudero (P98 million), Ramon Revilla (P86 million), Edgardo Angara (25 million), Pia Cayetano (P55 million), Jinggoy Estrada (P50 million), Lito Lapid (50 million), Manny Villar (49 million), Antonio Trillanes (P10 million), Gregorio Honasan (42 million), and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile (P54 million).

Twenty senator-judges came under fire after Sen. Estrada revealed that they received P50 million each allegedly as incentive for convicting Corona.

It was later learned that the amounts came from the so-called DAP, which is under the discretion of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad.

Recto was not a senator from 2007 to 2009. He returned to the Senate in 2010.

Corona was impeached in December 2011, and the Senate convened as an impeachment court in early 2012. The conviction was handed down May of the same year.

Recto was cautious on his statement when asked if the DAP is illegal or not.

While he recognized that the President might have powers to re-align some portions of the budget, Recto said the heart of the matter is whether the Chief Executive used his powers prudently. With Christina Mendez