Welcome!

I’m Ellen Tordesillas, a journalist.

I will be posting in this blog my columns in Malaya, articles by VERA Files, as well as materials relevant to strengthening democracy and making life worth living.

Malaya is a daily (except Sunday) newspaper in English that has a courageous history in the Filipinos' fight against tyranny.

VERA Files is composed of veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues.

Thank you.
Ellen
E-mail: ellentordesillas {at} gmail {dot} com

Welcome!

I’m Ellen Tordesillas, a journalist.

I will be posting in this blog my columns in Malaya, articles by VERA Files, as well as materials relevant to strengthening democracy and making life worth living.

Malaya (malaya.com.ph) is a daily (except Sunday) newspaper in English that has a courageous history in the Filipinos' fight against tyranny.

VERA Files (verafiles.org) is composed of veteran journalists taking a deeper look at current issues.

Thank you.
Ellen

E-mail: ellentordesillas {at} gmail {dot} com

Tag: 2015 budget

Antidote to DAP-inspired abuses: FOI

Published by Ellen on August 1, 2014

By Ellen T. Tordesillas

Budget Secretary Florencio "Butch" Abad submits 2015 budget to Congress. — Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad submits 2015 budget to Congress.

The P2.6 trillion 2015 budget submitted by Malacanang to Congress will institutionalize the practices in the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) which the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional.

In the 2015 budget proposal, “savings” is now defined as portions of allocations that “have not been released or obligated” due to “discontinuance or abandonment of a program, activity or project for justifiable causes, at any time during the validity of the appropriations.”

With this definition, President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio Abad can hijack funds allocated to projects under the 2015 General Appropriations Act as what they did with DAP the past three years.