THE Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday put on hold its decision on the nine petitions challenging the constitutionality of the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) of the Aquino administration.
No reason was given by the SC Public Information Office for the delay.
"Habang tumatagal, nagkakaroon kami ng pangamba sa kung anong maaaring gawin ng Palasyo (Malacañang) para makaimpluwensiya sa korte. Patuloy kaming magbabantay," Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes. Jr., one of the petitioners, said.
Petitioners claimed that DAP is unconstitutional since no law was passed by Congress that sanctions its appropriation and disbursement, the so-called "savings" were allegedly taken from slow-moving projects which were not yet completed or performed and it was and is being used to augment new budget allocations not approved by the legislature.
But the government said the President has the power to re-align savings, which went to projects to boost the economy from late 2011 until the middle of last year.
Malacañang also denied speculations that President Benigno Aquino III used the DAP to bribe senators in supporting the administration's call to oust former Chief Justice Renato Corona in 2012.
DAP disbursements from October 12, 2011 to September 26, 2013 amounted to P149.25 billion, according to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM). (Sunnex)