PNoy won't apologize for DAP - Palace

MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang believes that there is no need for the Aquino administration to apologize for the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) even if the Supreme Court has declared key parts of the fund scheme as unconstitutional.

"Kapag sinabing magso-sorry ka, may ginawa kang kasalanan. Wala po kaming ginawang kasalanan hinggil dito," Presidential Communications Operations Office head Herminio Coloma Jr. said at a televised press briefing on Thursday.

Earlier this week, the Supreme Court said certain acts of the DAP violated the Constitution, including the cross-border transfers of the savings of the executive department to augment the budget of other offices in other government branches.

Read: Copy of the SC ruling on the Disbursement Acceleration Program | SC Justice: Abad aware DAP tainted with unconstitutionality

Coloma insists that in implementing the DAP, the executive branch "exercised good faith and due diligence" in accordance with existing laws and relevant auditing rules and procedures.

"We believe we have been abiding by and complying with such lawful processes," he said.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court made public the 92-page decision on the DAP, which said that the "authors, proponents and implementors" of the fund scheme can be held liable if proven that they did not act in good faith.

Coloma said they will review the decision further to gain a more comprehensive understanding of its ramifications and study the appropriate legal options.

He said the executive branch will cooperate with the investigation of the Office of the Ombudsman.

"I think it is best that we allow the lawful and legal processes to take place and we are prepared to abide by all those processes," Coloma said.

The Aquino administration introduced the DAP in 2011 to boost the economy by realigning government savings from stalled projects to other programs.

The President himself defended the DAP last year in a speech delivered on primetime television, saying the fund scheme was not used for corruption.

After the SC decision, Malacañang also insisted that the DAP benefitted Filipinos and that its unconstitutionality should not be equated to criminality and wrongdoing.

Related: Palace on DAP: No criminality, no wrongdoing, no regrets