Umaasa ang mga mambabatas na magsasagawa si incoming Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre II ng patas na imbestigasyon sa mga opisyal ng administrasyong Aquino na posibleng sangkot sa iregularidad sa Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
Hiniling nina Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali, mataas na opisyal ng Liberal Party, at Ako Bicol Party-list Rep. Rodel Batocabe, tagapagsalita ng House party-list bloc sa administrasyon ni incoming President Rodrigo Duterte na magsampa ng kaukulang kaso sa sinumang dapat na managot.
“We expect a fair and square filing of charges. But such case will depend on evidence,” sinabi ni Umali sa isang panayam. “At the end of the day, the conviction will rest on the strength of prosecution evidence, and no other. And quantum of evidence is proof beyond reasonable doubt.”
Umaasa naman si Batocabe, na kaalyado na ngayon ni incoming Speaker at Davao del Norte Rep.-elect Pantaleon Alvarez, na mapapatibay ang sistema ng prosekusyon at hudikatura sa bansa sa ilalim ng administrasyong Duterte.
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Inatasan ni Duterte si Aguirre na panagutin ang dapat panagutin at sampahan ng kasong kurapsiyon ang mga opisyal sa papatapos na administrasyon kaugnay ng anumang paglabag ng mga ito sa pagpapatupad ng DAP.
Pinuri naman ni incoming Kabataan Party-list Rep. Sarah Elago ang ipinangako ni Aguirre na iimbestigahan ang mga sangkot sa ilegalidad sa DAP at kakasuhan ang sinuman “no matter who gets hurt.”
“This is a welcome development. The masterminds behind the multi-billion DAP scheme – Aquino and DBM Sec. Florencio Abad – should finally be prosecuted, without fear or favor,” ani Elago.
“We appeal to incoming Justice Secretary Aguirre and incoming President Duterte to exhaust all means to implement the Supreme Court ruling on DAP. The Filipino people have high expectations for the DoJ regarding this case. Aguirre should not let us all down by simply absolving [President] Aquino and [Budget Secretary Florencio] Abad,” sabi ni Elago.
Inaasahan ni Elgao na mapatutunayang guilty sina Pangulong Aquino at Abad sa ilang kaso, kabilang na ang malversation at plunder.
“This is precisely what the DoJ needs to investigate—whether a crime was committed by channeling funds to these DAP projects. Any keen observer who’s followed the DAP fiasco would agree that enough evidence is present to indict Aquino and Abad,” ani Elago.
Kaugnay nito, iginiit ng Malacañang na walang nilabag na anumang batas si Pangulong Aquino sa pagpapatupad ng DAP.
“As Chief Executive, President Aquino faithfully followed the Constitution and the laws of the land,” sabi ni Presidential Communications Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma, Jr.
Bagamat idineklara ng Korte Suprema na labag sa Konstitusyon ang DAP, sinabi ni Coloma na may “presumption of regularity” sa implementasyon ng gobyerno sa DAP.
“If we may recall, the Supreme Court upheld the motion for reconsideration filed through the Office of the Solicitor General, particularly on the operative fact doctrine. In that Decision, the Supreme Court categorically ruled and upheld the presumption of regularity in the implementation of the DAP,” ani Coloma.
Sa 27-pahinang ruling noong Pebrero 2015, idineklara ng Korte Suprema na labag sa batas ang ilang bahagi ng DAP, partikular ang “withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies, and the declaration of the withdrawn unobligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings”, gayundin ang “cross-border transfer of savings.” (CHARISSA LUCI at GENALYN KABILING)
