BY EUGENE Y. ADIONG
BACOLOD City – President Benigno Aquino III is not a thief, declared Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr.
He was reacting to the plan of the Diocese of Bacolod to hold a prayer vigil coinciding with the President’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) on July 28.
“Don’t tell me there’s no graft and corruption in the church,” said Marañon.
The governor has been vocal of his support to Aquino who is under fire for the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that the Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional.
Public officials in Negros Occidental will issue a manifesto expressing support to President Aquino, said the governor.
The President still enjoys the support of local government officials – in Negros Occidental and elsewhere in the country, he stressed.
President Aquino recently earned praises from the president of the Metro Bacolod Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) for his transparency on DAP.
Frank Carbon welcomed the President’s decision to release details of the spending program, saying it showed accountability in government.
The business leader appeared convinced of the President’s explanation that DAP had legal basis and was not made “out of the blue.”
Aquino said DAP’s basis was the 1987 Administrative Code.
The President’s decision to appeal the high tribunal’s decision is good, said Carbon.
“You don‘t have unrestricted power. Meaning, you could be challenged,” he said./PN
