The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a petition seeking to compel the Office of the Ombudsman and Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales to investigate and if evidence warrants, file charges against those behind the implementation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program and Priority Development Assistance Fund.
In its en banc session, the high court dismissed the petition filed by losing senatorial candidate Greco Belgica and Margarita “Tingting” Cojuangco during its regular en banc session.
SC spokesman Theodore Te said the Court ruled that acts sought to be compelled by petitioners are not ministerial acts but are discretionary acts.
According to the tribunal, mandamus will issue only, according to the SC when there is a showing that a clear, legal right to the act demanded exists; respondent has the duty to perform the act because it is mandated by law; respondent unlawfully neglects the performance of such duty required by law; the act to be performed is ministerial, not discretionary; and there is no other plain, speedy and adequate remedy in the ordinary course of law.
“None of these elements exist and thus mandamus does not lie and petitioners are not entitled to the relief sought,” the SC held.
Belgica and Cojuangco filed the petition in line with the SC ruling in 2013 where the latter declared as unconstitutional the PDAF commonly known as the “pork barrel fund” and all the laws that created it.
In 2014, the SC also declared several acts under the DAP program unconstitutional including: “The withdrawal of unobligated allotments from the implementing agencies, and the declaration of the withdrawn unobligated allotments and unreleased appropriations as savings prior to the end of the fiscal year and without complying with the statutory definition of savings contained in the GAA; the cross-border transfers of the savings of the Executive to augment the appropriations of other offices outside the Executive; and the funding of projects, activities and programs that were not covered by any appropriation in the GAA.
In the two rulings, the Court ordered an investigation and prosecution of officials behind the illegal pork-barrel fund system as well as the proponents, authors and implementors of DAP.
Belgica and Cojuangco were joined by Bishop Reuben M. Abate, Quentin P. San Diego, Rev. Jose Gonzales and lawyer Glenn A. Chong in the petition.
“Despite the receipt of the petitioners’ letter, red flags raised by the Commission on Audit and sufficient time lapse, the Ombudsman and the DOJ Secretary have miserably failed to perform their public functions and duties to the detriment of the petitioners and the general public, as well as Government,” petitioners said.
Aside from the Ombudsman’s slow investigation, petitioners told the High Tribunal that the DOJ’s action is “sub-par” due to “selective prosecution.”