Allege massive cronyism in DAP-infused projects

Anti-Poverty group reiterate demand of full-disclosure of DAP projects’ details, says devil is in the details

By Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang Lungsod
July 19, 2014

QUEZON CITY – An urban poor group called on Palace officials to reiterate their call for the full disclosure of the details of projects infused with Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) funds. They specifically wanted to know which companies were awarded with contracts stimulated by DAP.

The Kongreso ng Pagkakaisa ng Maralitang Lungsod (KPML) believes that the companies which were granted projects fueled with juggled public funds are heavily-connected with President Benigno Aquino III, they allege that they are either corporations identified with close associates and relatives.

Secretary Butch Abad of the Budget Department recently released a list containing 101 projects worth P144.4 billion that were implemented between 2011 and 2013 with the supposed economic stimulus program.

“The fiscal abuse hatched by the Palace could easily translate to anomalous and highly-dubious transactions since it did not go through budget deliberations in Congress for scrutiny. If not, then why did they not go through standard operating procedure and be a fiscal dictator,” said KPML leader, Orly Gallano.

“The fleshy features of each transaction using DAP funds are what the people want to know. As the most religious taxpayers, we have the right to know where our taxes were spent, how and to whom they were awarded. The devilish side of DAP lies in the details,” he asserted.

Despite the clamor for disclosure the Palace officials have not budged despite the obvious discrepancies with the document they submitted before the Supreme Court before it was declared unconstitutional and those recently released.

Documents submitted before the high court indicated that the Palace spent more than P177 billion.

The urban poor leader alleged that, “No amount of sanitizing could hide the fact that the DAP was used for political patronage, undermining of supposed co-equal branches of government, corruption and amassing of wealth of Aquino cronies and relatives through anomalous deals”.

“The more Aquino and Abad refuse to heed the demands of the people for full disclosure and deny the people justice, will only fuel their emotions and heighten the clamor for his ouster and establishment of a political system that will genuinely serve the interest of the nation’s poor majority,” Gallano added.

The KPML together with ally Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino just recently announced that they are now calling for the ouster of Aquino and the establishment of a government of the masses and not the constitutional takeover of the Vice President.