To insulate national budget from abuse, mishandling
Nancy: Clear provisions must be in place to protect public funds

Sen. Nancy Binay vowed to closely scrutinize the proposed national budget for 2015 to ensure that the public funds will not be prone to abuse and misuse.

Binay welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to declare the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional, noting that the High Tribunal's decision clearly sends a strong signal to public officials to ensure the proper and lawful use of the people's money.

"I welcome the high court's decision on DAP, a program that has been hounded by controversy for some time now. Sana po ay umpisa na ito ng mas pinaigting na pangangalaga sa pera ng bayan na dapat po ay ginagamit sa ikabubuti ng ating mamamayan," the lady senator said.

Binay added that once the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) submits its proposed budget for 2015, she will make sure that safety nets be in place and accountabilities are clear.

"We need to make sure na di na mauulit pa ang mga kwestyunableng paglilipat ng pera tulad ng nangyari sa DAP o maging noong may PDAF. Government agencies are accountable to the public, and they are responsible for guaranteeing that the funds they get are used in accordance with appropriate regulations and the financial memos," she noted.

"Ang panawagan ko po sa ating gobyerno, siguraduhin po sana natin na hindi na maulit ang mga isyu na tulad ng PDAF at DAP. We need to make sure that the national budget is protected from unscrupulous individuals," she added.

According to Binay, the recent development should serve as a lesson to all public officials that they are in office to serve the people.

"Ang ating mandato po ay ang pagsilbihan ang bayan, kasama na po rito ang pangangalaga at pagbibigay proteksyon sa kaban ng bayan," Binay said.

"As members of Congress and as public officials, it is our duty to ensure that the people's money is spent on programs that benefit all Filipinos. Bilang miyembro ng Senado tungkulin naming bantayan ang kaban ng bayan upang maiwasan ang mga iregularidad tulad ng issue ng PDAF gayundin ang DAP," the lady senator added.