Supreme Court declares DAP partially unconstitutional in Araullo v Aquino

The Supreme Court En Banc ruled on July 1, 2014 in the consolidated case of Araullo v. Aquino (G.R. No. 209287 and companion cases) that three specific practices under the Disbursement Acceleration Program were unconstitutional: (1) the withdrawal of unobligated allotments and their declaration as "savings" before the end of the fiscal year, (2) the cross-border transfer of executive-branch savings to augment items in other branches and constitutional offices, and (3) the funding of projects not covered by any appropriation in the GAA. The Court applied the doctrine of operative fact, recognizing that many DAP-funded projects had already been implemented in good faith and could not be unwound. Public officials responsible for those projects could nonetheless face administrative or criminal liability on the proper standards. The Department of Budget and Management discontinued the DAP after the ruling. The Office of the Ombudsman later dismissed criminal complaints against then-President Benigno S. Aquino III, then-Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, and others connected to the program, citing absence of evident bad faith.