Turning down Abad's resignation bolsters Aquino impeachment - solon

MANILA, Philippines — President Benigno Aquino III's rejection of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad's resignation offer only strengthens the efforts to impeach the Chief Executive, a lawmaker said.

"Non-acceptance of resignation gives further resolve for the impeachment of the President. Betrayal of [public] trust [includes] cronyism and favoritism," Kabataan Party-list Representative Terry Ridon said in his Twitter account.

Ridon said this after Aquino announced that he turned down Abad's resignation on Thursday amid the controversy arising from the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was declared partially unconstitutional by the Supreme Court (SC).

Read: Aquino rejects Abad's resignation

He said the President's rejection of Abad's resignation "clearly shows that Palace is unrepentant for DAP" despite the high court ruling and public clamor against the budget chief.

The youth lawmaker said Abad's resignation is "insincere" since it is not irrevocable.

"Bumenta na 'yan. Sec. Petilla did the same gimmick last year," Ridon said in his Twitter account, referring to Energy Secretary Jericho Petilla who offered to resign after missing his self-imposed deadline to bring back power to disaster-hit areas.

One of the petitioners in the high court against the DAP, Ridon had said they will be preparing all necessary charges against officials involved in the implementation of the controversial stimulus fund scheme.

Ridon said the SC decision on the DAP is a "solid ground" for culpable violation of the Constitution and betrayal of public trust, both of which are impeachable offenses.

Abad, meanwhile, can be charged with malversation of public funds at "the bare minimum" for crafting and implementing the DAP.

The budget chief is considered as the brains behind the DAP, which was introduced by the Aquino administration in 2011 to pump-prime the economy by realigning government savings from slow-moving projects to other programs.

In its 92-page decision, the SC said "authors, proponents and implementors" of the DAP can have criminal, civil, administrative and other liabilities "unless there are concrete findings of good faith in their favor by the proper tribunals."

The Aquino administration has claimed that the DAP was done in good faith and was beneficial to the people.