DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Vice President Jejomar Binay said there is a solution to every problem but he does not know how the controversy on the use of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Malampaya fund and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) would be resolved.
“There is a solution to every problem. But as to how these (issues on the PDAF, Malampaya fund and DAP) would be resolved, that I do not know,†Binay said yesterday afternoon upon arrival at the Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao for the awarding of local government units that completed their comprehensive land use plan.
Binay also said that he respects the opinion of Fr. Joaquin Bernas, a constitutionalist, that the government cannot just transfer the savings of one department to another.
Bernas was reacting to the statement of former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno, who slammed Malacañang for inserting additional funds for new projects through the DAP.
But Binay urged the public to have faith in government in spite of the controversies on the use of public funds.
“I am still part of government,†Binay added.
DBM records: Ecleo got PDAF
Records of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) show that even expelled Dinagat Islands Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. got P137.4 million in PDAF in 2012.
DBM records also show that Ecleo still managed to receive his 2013 PDAF in the amount of P37.6 million.
The regional trial court found Ecleo guilty of killing his wife Alona in 2002. He was sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison and was ordered to pay his wife’s family at least P25.62 million in damages.
Ecleo was also convicted in a graft case, which he appealed before the Sandiganbayan but his appeal was denied with finality.
He was expelled from the rolls of the House of Representatives in 2012 and is now a fugitive.
Because of Ecleo’s expulsion from Congress, Akbayan Rep. Arlene Bag-ao was appointed caretaker of the lone congressional district of Dinagat Islands in October 2012.
DBM records show that Bag-ao as party-list representative and Dinagat Islands caretaker received P66.05 million in PDAF in 2012.
In May 2013, Bag-ao ran for Congress representing Dinagat Islands under the ruling Liberal Party (LP) and won. She still received her PDAF as party-list representative in the amount of P35 million.
Meanwhile, Agusan del Norte Rep. Erlpe John Amante, brother of former Agusan del Norte Rep. Maria Angelica Rossdel Amante-Matba and a member of LP, said in a press conference that he wanted the scrapped PDAF to be returned to House members as its abolition would cause difficulty in bringing development in the countryside, particularly in a province like Agusan del Norte.