DAP didn’t do it

CHEERS to ABS-CBN 2’s TV Patrol and ABS-CBNNews.com for examining the impact of several programs funded through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) on the Philippine economy.

TV Patrol’s segment Investigative Reports, aired September 3, looked at the effects of several DAP-funded programs on the economy. The three-minute special reported that 33 DAP projects worth Php 48.9 billion did not have a “pump priming effect” on the economy. A pump priming effect, according to economist Margarito Teves is “something dramatic, immediate, and something that will either lead to more employment, income or inclusive growth.”

According to Finance secretary Butch Abad, DAP was “a spending reform measure for speeding up public expenditures to catalyze economic growth.” But economists Teves and Benjamin Diokno said it did not meet its objective.

The report showed that the ratio of the DAP disbursements with pump priming effect to gross domestic product (GDP) of the country was not significant. For instance, the GDP was P9.736 trillion in 2011 and the P30.5 billion DAP disbursements had a pump priming effect on the economy equal only to 0.0031 of GDP. The ratios of the disbursements to GDP in succeeding years were 0.0017 in 2012 and 0.0000 in 2013.

The report also pointed out that the DAP-funded milk feeding program did not meet the goal of addressing the problems of malnutrition. The program aimed to feed malnourished students in some primary schools in the country for a month. In the case of Pinaglabanan Elementary School in San Juan Manila, 314 out of 418 beneficiaries of the feeding program were actually healthy to begin with, according to school officials.

The report also noted that the stem cell study program did not meet the DAP goal to boost the economy either.

TV Patrol’s Investigative Reports supported its story with pertinent data, statistics, graphs, and interviews with economists as well as DAP supporters.

A more detailed version of the three-minute special can be found at ABS-CBNews.com, ABS-CBN 2’s online news portal.