Senate committee summons Abad to explain DAP

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad. Photo courtesy of the World Economic Forum 2014 / Fotopedia

MANILA — Following court’s decision to declare the Disbursement Acceleration Program to be partially unconstitutional, the Senate Committee on Finance summoned Budget Secretary Florencion Abad to explain. 

Abad is set to be invited in a committee hearing on July 21, which will be the continuation of the previous proceedings conducted by the senate.

Senator Chiz Escudero, chairman of the finance committee also asked for a copy of the list of all Special Allotment Release Orders (SARO) that were disbursed under the DAP. 

“If we want to scrutinize the DAP releases under the guidance of the SC decision, we need all the papers that only DBM can provide,” he said.

“You have been asking us which among our programs and projects were funded by the DAP… This is what we have been asking the DBM (Department of Budget and Management) too since our last committee hearing: where is the list?” Escudero added. 

Abad, said to be the “architect of DAP,” earlier submitted his resignation following the controversial decision of the SC.

President Aquino, however, turned down Abad’s resignation maintaining his full trust on the secretary.