Persons who misused DAP will be held liable - Palace

DAP not totally suspended - Palace

MANILA -- After admitting that the funds under the so-called Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) may have been misused, Palace officials said those involved in this will be held liable.
In an interview with radio dzRB, deputy presidential spokesperson said this can be done as long as there is available evidence.
The release of the DAP was suspended at the same time the release of the remaining Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for 2013 was stopped.
Valte said, however, that the suspension only covered “nominations from lawmakers.” This means that projects identified by “agencies and bureaus” will continue.
Asked if there will be a chance that the DAP will be released to legislators in the future, Valte only said: “It’s hard to answer something hypothetical. I’d rather stay off any speculations for the time-being.”
The issue hounding the DAP came about after Senator Jinggoy Estrada alleged that incentives were given to senators after the ouster of Chief Justice Renato Corona as he lambasted the alleged persecution he has received for his supposed role in the misuse of the other pork, the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
Budget Secretary Florencio Abad would later come to the DAP’s defense, saying it was used to spur infrastructure.
Some pundits, including former Senator Joker Arroyo and Senator Miriam Santiago, said the DAP was illegal, however, since there was no congressional approval.
Santiago went on to say that Abad should already resign out of delicadeza.
Valte said, however, “What is important in this case is not just the fund, we should also check its misuse.”
The Philippine Daily Inquirer earlier reported that Estrada and Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Vicente Sotto III had written letters to Malacanang requesting for the transfer of the funds initially allotted to the Department of Agrarian Reform to the National Livelihood Development Corp. (NLDC).
They then supposedly asked for the transfer of the funds to certain nongovernment organizations connected to alleged PDAF scam perpetrator, Janet Napoles.