EMBATTLED Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" B. Abad said he has decided to stay in President Benigno S.C. Aquino III's Cabinet after the latter rejected his offer to resign over the Supreme Court-disallowed Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
Mr. Abad, however, said he assumes "full responsibility" for the controversial program -- hence his move to relinquish his post.
In a statement on Saturday, the Budget chief said he tendered his resignation on Thursday in the wake of the controversy surrounding the DAP and the high court's recent ruling declaring parts of the program unconstitutional.
"This was not without thought or reflection… it became clear to me that I must abide by the highest standards of accountability that we in the Aquino administration hold ourselves to," Mr. Abad said.
"I take full responsibility for my role in developing and implementing the DAP, as well as for the impact of the resulting controversy on the Administration's governance agenda. It was therefore only fitting that I resign."
On Friday, however, Mr. Aquino announced ahead of a Cabinet meeting that he has decided to reject Mr. Abad's resignation.
The President explained that allowing the Budget chief to quit was tantamount to acknowledging wrongdoing on Mr. Abad's part.
"Although I was wholly prepared to relinquish my post, I am grateful for the President's expression of his continuing trust and confidence in my leadership of the [Budget] department," Mr. Abad said.
"I have thus chosen to defer to his better judgment and stay. I am determined, as I have always been, to do justice to the President's faith in my integrity and competence."
He noted that developments over the last year on matters concerning the use of public funds will only spur the Budget department to "carry out (its) responsibilities with greater vigilance and meticulousness."
"I assure the people that we will proceed with a keener awareness of the standards against which our work will be measured, but also with a deeper appreciation of the great opportunities for reform ahead of us," the Budget chief said.
The Supreme Court last July 1 struck down parts of the DAP --implemented in 2011-2102 as an 'economic stimulus' program -- for violating constitutional provisions on the transfer of appropriations and separation of powers.
Mr. Abad, who is said to have pushed for the DAP, has since come under fire -- plunder charges were filed by cause-oriented groups earlier this week -- even as the Aquino government insists that the program was executed in "good faith" and the money ended up benefiting the public.
The Aquino administration halted the DAP last year after the program was dragged into the so-called "pork barrel' controversy involving the misuse of legislators' allocations.
The "pork barrel" scam, which surfaced in July last year, involves the alleged diversion of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus nongovernment organizations. Several legislators and former congressmen have been slapped with plunder and malversation charges.
The Supreme Court last November declared PDAF as unconstitutional.
In a statement on Saturday, the Budget chief said he tendered his resignation on Thursday in the wake of the controversy surrounding the DAP and the high court's recent ruling declaring parts of the program unconstitutional.
"This was not without thought or reflection… it became clear to me that I must abide by the highest standards of accountability that we in the Aquino administration hold ourselves to," Mr. Abad said.
"I take full responsibility for my role in developing and implementing the DAP, as well as for the impact of the resulting controversy on the Administration's governance agenda. It was therefore only fitting that I resign."
On Friday, however, Mr. Aquino announced ahead of a Cabinet meeting that he has decided to reject Mr. Abad's resignation.
The President explained that allowing the Budget chief to quit was tantamount to acknowledging wrongdoing on Mr. Abad's part.
"Although I was wholly prepared to relinquish my post, I am grateful for the President's expression of his continuing trust and confidence in my leadership of the [Budget] department," Mr. Abad said.
"I have thus chosen to defer to his better judgment and stay. I am determined, as I have always been, to do justice to the President's faith in my integrity and competence."
He noted that developments over the last year on matters concerning the use of public funds will only spur the Budget department to "carry out (its) responsibilities with greater vigilance and meticulousness."
"I assure the people that we will proceed with a keener awareness of the standards against which our work will be measured, but also with a deeper appreciation of the great opportunities for reform ahead of us," the Budget chief said.
The Supreme Court last July 1 struck down parts of the DAP --implemented in 2011-2102 as an 'economic stimulus' program -- for violating constitutional provisions on the transfer of appropriations and separation of powers.
Mr. Abad, who is said to have pushed for the DAP, has since come under fire -- plunder charges were filed by cause-oriented groups earlier this week -- even as the Aquino government insists that the program was executed in "good faith" and the money ended up benefiting the public.
The Aquino administration halted the DAP last year after the program was dragged into the so-called "pork barrel' controversy involving the misuse of legislators' allocations.
The "pork barrel" scam, which surfaced in July last year, involves the alleged diversion of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to bogus nongovernment organizations. Several legislators and former congressmen have been slapped with plunder and malversation charges.
The Supreme Court last November declared PDAF as unconstitutional.
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