Pres. Duterte slammed former Pres. Noynoy Aquino and former Budget Sec. Butch Abad.
DUTERTE – President Rodrigo Roa Duterte slammed former Pres. Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III and former Budget Secretary Butch Abad for implementing the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
Based on a recent news report, Pres. Duterte claimed that the former President and Budget Secretary implemented the DAP despite that the Supreme Court has declared some of the DAP’s portions not in line with the Constitution.
Aside from that, the 72-year-old Chief Executive also chided the members of the press for not reporting regarding the matter.
“Kayong mga media ngayon, ba’t gobyerno ko lang?” the Chief Executive expressed based on the report.
[You, the media of the present, why only my government?]
Moreover, Pres. Duterte also raised a question on why the media does not check on what the former Budget Secretary has done.
He stressed that despite the ruling that the DAP is prohibited, former Pres. Aquino implemented it “as if it was nobody’s business.”
Reportedly, the DAP issue has previously left charges against the former President.
Some groups including Alliance of Concerned Teachers, Kilusang Mangbubukid ng Pilipinas, and Volunteers against Crime and Corruption filed malversation charges against former Pres. Aquino.
Based on a previous news report, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales has cleared the former President from his alleged involvement in the DAP implementation issue.
Former Manila Councilor Greco Belgica filed a disbarment case against Ombudsman Morales as he accused her of violating the oath that she has sworn as a lawyer due to her “questionable” ruling which cleared former Pres. Aquino.
According to the news report, the Ombudsman was appointed by the former President during his term. Ombudsman Morales will be finishing her seven-year term on July 2018.
The former Manila Councilor expressed his hope that the SC would hear the case due to its “peculiarity”. Nevertheless, he affirmed his awareness that it is only after the term of the impeachable officer that a disbarment case can be filed against Ombudsman Morales.
Based on the report, Belgica tagged the DAP case as a “very special case”.
According to Belgica, if the SC would finish hearing the case after Morales’ term, disbarment might be faced by the Ombudsman while if the end of the Court hearing came before her term’s expiration, she can be censured.