VOL. XXX NO. 147 3 Sections 32 Pages P18 SATURDAY : JULY 9, 2016 www.thestandard.com.ph editorial@thestandard.com.ph
LOCAL GOVTS PRESSED ON RH LAW
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PNOY SUED AGAIN Aquino, Abad accused of graft, malversation
By Maricel V. Cruz
MILITANT groups led the filing of a complaint before the Office of the Ombudsman Friday against former President Benigno Aquino III and his Budget Secretary Florencio Abad for graft, malversation and usurpation of legislative powers through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
The complaint was the second filed against Aquino, whose term ended June 30. The first was a multiple homicide charge filed by the parents of two of the 44 police Special Action Force commandos who died in the Mamasapano massacre on Jan. 25, 2015. The Aquino administration created DAP ostensibly as a stimulus package to speed up public spending and increase economic growth. But critics accused the Aquino administration of misusing public funds and usurping the congressional power of the purse and challenged the DAP before the Supreme Court, which struck it down as unconstitutional in February 2015.
Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Zarate, one of the complainants, said the DAP was “nothing more than presidential pork taken from forced savings then realigned for pet projects.” “It was not a stimulus program as many of the projects approved by Aquino had nothing to do with stimulating the economy. It was presidential pork used to entice lawmakers to impeach then convict former Chief Justice Renato Corona,” he said. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr., another complainant, said the allegations they raised “were originally aired via the impeachment complaint filed before the House of Representatives in 2014.” Next page
Economy class. An economy
class flight steward attends to his VIP passenger, President Rodrigo Duterte, who took a Philippine Airlines flight to Davao City Thursday night. MALACAÑANG PHOTO
RODY FLIES ECONOMY TO DAVAO PRESIDENT Rodrigo R. Duterte flew home to Davao City Thursday night, flying economy on board a commercial flight of Philippine Airlines, in line with his promise that public officials should shun special treatment. A photo posted by the Presidential Communications Office showed Duterte sitting on the window side of a three-seat row in the economy class section of PAL Flight PR1825 that left Ma-
nila at 9 p.m. and arrived in Davao City at 10:45 p.m. At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, President Duterte also shunned VIP treatment usually given to the President of the Philippines. Several photos also posted by the PCO showed Duterte passing through the X-ray and metal scanners, raising his hands for inspection as he entered the departure area of the Naia Terminal 2.
In the first Cabinet meeting after his inauguration last June 30, Duterte ordered his Cabinet members to shun priority treatment at the airports. ”We should treat ourselves just like any other Filipino traveling,” the President told his Cabinet. Amid air traffic congestion at the Naia, President Duterte also said he would do away with the presidential no-fly-zone whenever he will fly in and out of the country’s main gateway. PNA
LACSON FILES BILL AGAINST DYNASTIES
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