MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno S. Aquino III on Monday said his administration utilized the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to implement projects and programs that benefited the Filipinos at the soonest possible time.
In a televised national address on the DAP issue, President Aquino said the DAP was crucial in correcting deficiencies in the budget system of the past and to fast-track implementation of government’s priority projects.
“…It follows the law and adheres to the mandate granted to the Executive Branch. We did this to properly allocate funds, and by so doing maximize the benefits that the people may receive,” he said.
President Aquino recalled that DAP started before delivering his State-of-the-Nation Address in 2011 and he was given a progress report by all government departments.
He cited the Department of Education (DepEd) that only completed 18 school buildings out of the total 8,000 it had targeted to build amid problems with land, assessment issues as well as the complex processes in the bureaucracy.
He said the DepEd built 3,000 to 4,000 classrooms during the year and eliminated a backlog of 66,800 classrooms.
President Aquino said the sitio electrification program is another project that was successfully implemented through the efficient use of savings.
Through DAP, in 2012, Php1.264 billion were made available to electrify a total of 6,163 sitios out of the 36,000 that the country needed to energize, he added.
Likewise, President Aquino said the National Irrigation Authority had doubled its performance in meeting targets for rehabilitation and reconstruction.
“Is it not right that funds that had been otherwise left unused were utilized for programs that had proven effective, so that targets can be met and the benefits to the people can ensue at the soonest possible time?,” the President said.
“Another advantage of this system: Projects that were temporarily suspended for a given year would not have to compete for funding with the other finished projects in the following year. This is clearly a win-win situation,” he added.
The Supreme Court’s recent decision on the DAP questioned the government’s use of savings and raised concerns on when it can use unprogrammed funds.
“They want savings declared only at the 31st of December of each year. If that were the case, when would the government be free to utilize these funds? Following their logic on savings, projects that could have been funded in the middle of the current year would have to be delayed until the following year,” President Aquino said.
The President noted that any good leader would want to implement projects that benefit the public at the soonest possible time.
“I do not see any reason to delay benefits for our countrymen, especially because we have the wherewithal to alleviate their plight. It is clear that if you delay the benefits due them, you prolong the suffering of the Filipino people,” he added.
