OMBUDSMAN Conchita Carpio-Morales on Tuesday indicted former Budget secretary Florencio Abad for implementing the Disbursement Acceleration Program involving P72 billion.
She said Abad violated Article 239 or the Usurpation of Legislative Powers under the Revised Penal Code.
Morales also ordered the filing of three counts of graft, one count of theft and two counts of theft through falsification of public documents against former Misamis Oriental representative Prospero Nograles.
She ordered copies of her decision forwarded to the Anti-Money Laundering Council for its immediate action on the possible violations by the respondents of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
The charges stemmed from Nograles’ alleged questionable use of his Priority Development Assistance Fund.
But Nograles on Tuesday said he will file a motion for reconsideration before the Sandiganbayan over the alleged pork barrel scam.
In a statement, Nograles said the Ombudsman’s decision was based on spurious documents and mismatched time lines.
“I have not received a copy of the decision of the Ombudsman, but nonetheless we are preparing our motion for reconsideration hoping that the body would go the extra mile to study the authenticity of their documents,” Nograles said.
Morales cleared former President Benigno Aquino III and former Budget undersecretary Mario Relampagos of any involvement in the case.
The administrative raps against Aquino was dropped for lack of jurisdictionwhile Relampagos was absolved for lack of merit.
The case arose from Abad’s “unlawful” issuance of National Budget Circular 541 to carry out the DAP implementation.
NBC 541 authorizes the withdrawal of un-obligated allotments of agencies with low levels of obligations as of June 30, 2012.
Morales also found Abad guilty of simple misconduct and ordered his suspension for at least three months.
“However, considering his separation from the service, the penalty is convertible to a fine equivalent to his salary for three months,” the Ombudsman’s 45-page resolution read.
The cases stemmed from the complaint filed by Bayan Muna Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate, Bayan secretary-general Renato Reyes Jr., Benjamin Valbuena, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption founder Dante Jimenez, theater artist Mae Paner, Antonio Flores, Gloria Arellano and Bonifacio Carmona Jr.
During the investigation, the Ombudsman found that by issuing NBC 541, Abad unlawfully encroached on the powers of Congress by effectively modifying the provisions on savings of the 2012 General Appropriations Act.
“NBC 541 provided the principal bases for the withdrawal of un-obligated allotments which were declared as savings and used to fund PAPs [programs, activities and projects] under the DAP. The issuance of this circular is an act of usurpation. This is contrary to law,” Morales said in a resolution.
In 2014, the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional some acts committed in pursuance of the DAP”•the withdrawal of un-obligated allotments from the implementing agencies, the declaration of the withdrawn un-obligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings prior to the end of the fiscal year without complying with the statutory definition of savings contained in the GAA, and the cross-border transfers of the savings of the executive to augment the appropriations of other offices outside the executive.