Philippine president may face charges after term ends

President of the Philippines Benigno Aquino (R) holds talks with visiting US Defense Secretary Ash Carter at the presidential palace in Manila April 14, 2016. [Photo/Agencies]

MANILA - Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino III will face charges once he steps down from office, a lawmaker warned Monday.

Bayan Muna party-list Representative Carlos Isagani Zarate said Aquino, along with Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and other members of his cabinet, would face complaints in relation to the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was declared by the Supreme Court as unconstitutional in 2014.

DAP was implemented by the Aquino government to accelerate spending in order to pump-prime the economy in late 2011 until 2013.

Zarate said different groups have already been preparing all the documents needed to file the cases.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said that for the past six years, Aquino and the members of his cabinet have served the Filipinos truthfully and in accordance with the constitution and laws.

Under the law, a sitting president is immune from any suit. Aquino ends his six-year term on June 30.