MIRIAM'S COMMENT ON ALLEGED DAP RELEASES

If any DAP releases were made to me, I did not ask for them. They must have been received in due course by my Office, from the Senate secretariat. If so, I would have assigned the funds to my usual PDAF projects - such as the U.P. system throughout the country, PGH, other hospitals, or local government units - but certainly not to NGOs.

The usual practice was for the Senate secretariat to inform the senator that a certain sum of money was available for her use in favor of projects for her constituency. Since the notice came from the secretariat, I simply relied on the presumption of regularity in the discharge of official functions. I did not inquire whether the funds were PDAF or DAP. All disbursements that I made were properly reported as required by law.

If the inclusion of my name is necessitated by a listing of all DAP releases, then I understand that there is no malice. But if my name alone is given prominence, then I will interpret this news as an attempt to cow me, because I authored the resolution calling for Question Hour with the secretary of budget and management.

The scandal about DAP involves members of Congress who gave DAP to NGOs, which are either non-existent or corrupt. In my case, a few months ago, I even requested from the DBM a list of any DAP releases to me. It took them some time to give me the list. And when I received it, even I was surprised, because when my Office reportedly received the funds, they were not identified as DAP funds.