In the fulfilment of his campaign slogan “Tuwid na Daan,” President Benigno Aquino III lost no time for the arrest of political opponents Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Ramon Revilla who are accused of plunder and graft cases in connection with the multi-billion pork barrel fund scam. Ironically, the President too, is facing issues of corruption after masterminding the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, with 13 out of 14 justices voting against it.
[quote_center]Many legislators are said to benefit from DAP, both knowingly and unknowingly, and as it turns out, PNoy’s Kaibigan, Kakampi, Kaklase, and Kabarilan[/quote_center]
Many legislators are said to benefit from DAP, both knowingly and unknowingly, and as it turns out, PNoy’s Kaibigan, Kakampi, Kaklase, and Kabarilan (Friends, Allies, Classmate, Shooting buddies) are also receipients of the said fund. Seems like, PNoy cannot just sweep cronyism in politics off his sleeve, after appointing cabinet members who are part of the four “K”. As allies, they would, as expected, implement and fulfil the president’s visions.
According to Article 7 Section 16 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, the president can “nominate and, with the consent of Commission on Appointments, appoint the heads of the executive departments.” These cabinet members will then act as “alter ego” of the president to help him in executing programs in their respective departments. They will also serve as advisors to the president in their assigned fields.
And just as how his appointees proved their loyalty to him, PNoy does the same as he continues to stand behind his allies despite issues being thrown at them. Example was when PNoy backlashed at critics of Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad and Department of Agrarian Reform Sec. Virgilio de los Reyes, after some legislators and concerned citizens called for their resignation. Yet, PNoy, in a firm stand, said that he is ever confident in the performance of Abad and de los Reyes, thus sees no point in letting them go.
De los Reyes is being criticized by some legislators for being weak in the implementation of Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program Extension with Reform (CARPER) law. And yet, hundreds of farmers remain burdened by the law, as many of them still do not have their own land to till. PNoy’s relatives, the Conjuanco-Aquino clan, own a great deal of Hacienda Luisita Inc., a 6,453 hectares sugarcane plantation that has a long overdue distribution of land.
Meanwhile, DBM Secretary Florencio Abad, alleged tutor of Pork barrel Queen Janet Napoles in scheming the pork barrel fund scam, stay cozy and unharmed in his seat with PNoy at his back. But to add some delicadeza into it, he submitted a resignation letter, which was ceremoniously rejected by PNoy.
Department of Agriculture Sec. Proceso Alcala, a long-time member of the Liberal Party, was also dragged in the Pork barrel scam. But the case never flourished the same way with Sen. Estrada and Sen. Revilla.
It is also Abad and PNoy who are responsible for the creation of DAP which they said acts as a “stimulus” to the economy of the country. It funded several projects and local governments, including the province of Quezon. However, in an exposé, Quezon Governor David Suarez said he only received P1.2 B from the supposed P4 B fund assistance, which he did not know came from DAP.
Moreover, according to Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, DAP was used to bribe senators during the impeachement trial of former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2011.
De los Reyes’s, Abad’s, and Alcala’s departments received from DAP P1,299,717,000 (DAR) , P3,903,818,000 (DBM), P6,151,187,000 (DA), respectively.
Other cabinet members, who proved to have close ties not just with PNoy but his family as well, are Department of Education (DepEd) Secretary Armin Luistro and (DND) Department of National Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin. The former had close ties with PNoy’s late mother President Corazon “Cory” Aquino. Luistro even delivered a homily titled “Cory, the Heart of a Saint” during her wake. On the other hand, Gazmin served as the Commander of the Presidential Security Group (PSG) during Cory’s administration. He defended her against coup attempts in her six-year term as president. And when it was her son’s turn to run for presidency, Gazmin became one of the security consultants for the campaign of PNoy. Both Gazmin and Noynoy were also born and raised in the province of Tarlac.
DepEd received funds from DAP, amounting to P4,136,880,000, while DND received P665,627,000.
PNoy did not also forget his shooting buddies, thus reserved a place for them in cabinet posts. Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila de Lima once admitted that PNoy taught her how to fire. She even commended PNoy for being such a good coach. Another shooting buddy of PNoy is Department of Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, who was cleared by PNoy when faced with tax irregularities. Both of their departments received P13,200,000 and P3,758,136,000, respectively.
And yet the ever-present ally of PNoy is Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas, who has a high chance of representing the Liberal Party as its standard-bearer for the 2016 Presidential elections. He also served as the president of the party from 2007 to 2012. His department received P5.8 B funds from DAP.
They are just among the cabinet members who have close ties with PNoy. Below is a summary of the amount of DAP received by each department, along with the relation of its secretaries to PNoy:
