WE, FILIPINOS IN HONG KONG stand against the pork barrel system and the corruption it breeds. We stand for moral regeneration and political changes that genuinely benefit the people.
In the face of widespread want and poverty in the country, deteriorating services and protection to overseas Filipinos due to lack of funds, and the grave condition of unemployment and economic problems that force millions to migrate and get separated from their family and community, the political and moral bankruptcy in the Philippine government over the pork barrel system compels every Filipino overseas to stand for change.
Reintroduced during the presidency of Corazon Aquino, pork barrel now goes by many names and forms, among them President’s Social Fund PSF), Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), Empowerment Fund, Unprogrammed Fund and Malampaya Fund.
Whatever the name is, the corruption is astounding and shows a system that is flawed and serves merely the rich and powerful at the expense of the people.
The exposition of Janet Napoles’s 10-billion peso NGO scam involving lawmakers opened the floodgates for the discovery of the extent and intensity of the problem. From the halls of the Congress to the offices in Malacañang, the gross immorality and irregularity of the pork barrel system that gives legislators P25 billion and the President with P1.3 trillion in discretionary funds is rapidly becoming apparent.
Public office is a public trust and we, the people, have been betrayed with the large-scale theft of the people’s money.
While poverty is experienced by the majority and social service allocations have been cut drastically and agencies urged to privatize, billions in funds have been pocketed by corrupt government officials and with total immunity; while ever higher taxes are being imposed even on the poor, government officials and their kins use the people’s hard-earned money as their own private fund.
Aquino’s “righteous path” is meaningless in the face of the pork barrel system scandals. His government’s determination to preserve the even bigger presidential pork despite overwhelming call by the people for total abolition of the pork barrel system, does not speak well of the administration’s intent of stamping out corruption at all levels of government. The so-called DAP of the Office of the President is but another form of pork barrel, and thus must also be abolished.
We are one with the Filipino people in demanding to:
1. Eliminate the pork barrel system in the government, including the DAP, that is a fundamentally flawed method of public funds allocation tailored for personal enrichment and patronage politics. Introduce provisions in the General Appropriations Act that will ensure transparency and accountability in the use of public funds.
2. Aggressively prosecute Napoles and all erring appointive and elective officials linked to the pork barrel scam. No stone must be left unturned, and no special treatment given even to those allied with the current administration.
3. Rechannel all presidential and congressional pork to subsidize basic social services, such as education, health, housing, livelihood programs and public utilities. Such recipient projects and programs should be listed as line budget items, and should be implemented automatically and fully. Sufficient funds must also be allocated for on-site services to overseas Filipinos including shelter and repatriation services as well as medical and legal assistance for overseas Filipinos in distress.
These steps will contribute significantly to the people’s wellbeing and to genuine good governance in the country.
The people have spoken and we, the Hong Kong Filipino community, pledge to be one with our people in the Philippines and elsewhere in the world in continuing to act for the realization of the moral and political changes urgently needed in our homeland.
Signed:
1. Abra Migrant Workers Welfare Association (AMWWA)
2. Abra Tinguian Ilocano Society (ATIS-HK)
3. Alay Kapwa Catholic Group
4. Annak ti Maeng Tubo
5. Association of Concerned Filipinos in Hong Kong (ACFIL-HK)
6. Baggak Ti ATIS
7. Bagong Alyansang Makabayan – Hong Kong (BAYAN-HK)
8. Balungao Overseas Workers Association (BOWA)
9. Bangued Hong Kong Organization
10. Binalonan Migrant Workers Organization (BMWO)
11. Bucay Migrant Workers
12. Bucloc Hong Kong Organization
13. Chaplaincy for Filipinos (Fr. Emilio Lim, SVD)
14. Church of the Annunciation Filipino Catholic Group
15. Cordillera Alliance Hong Kong (CORALL-HK)
16. Cordillera Catholic – Hong Kong
17. Cuyapo Association
18. Divine Word Migrants Apostolate
19. Filguys Hong Kong
20. Filipino Friends in Hong Kong
21. Filipino Migrant Association (FMA)
22. Filipino Migrant Workers’ Union – Hong Kong (FMWU)
23. Filipino Women Migrant Workers Organization (FILWOM)
24. Friends of Bethune House (FBH)
25. GABRIELA Hong Kong
26. Ganagan San Juan Association
27. Holy Family Filipino Catholic Group
28. Holy Spirit Filipino Group
29. Hong Kong Filipino Catholic Biblical Pastoral Ministry
30. Ifugao Association (IA)
31. Ikmin Valley Organization Boliney
32. Isabelino Ako – Hong Kong
33. Janiuaynon Association
34. Junior Dance Club (JAM)
35. Kadaklan Overseas Association
36. Kalinga Province Hong Kong Workers Association (KAPHWA)
37. Komadrona Hong Kong
38. Lagangilang Overseas Association
39. Licuan Baay Hong Kong Association
40. Likha Filipino Migrants Cultural Organization
41. Loved Flock Community Hong Kong
42. Mabama Organization Malibcong
43. Maeng Tribe of Abra Luba Hong Kong
44. Manabo Hong Kong Organization
45. Methodist Church Filipino Migrants
46. Migrante Hong Kong Bank
47. Migrante Luzviminda
48. Migrante Naguilian
49. MIGRANTE Sectoral Party – Hong Kong
50. Migrante Shatin
51. Migrants Association of San Isidro Abra
52. Mission Volunteers (MOVERS)
53. Mountain Province – Hong Kong
54. Namwaw
55. Palawan Migrants Association (PMA)
56. Pangasinan Organization for Welfare, Empowerment and Rights (POWER)
57. Passi City (Iloilo) Association – Hong Kong
58. Philippine Independent Church Choir
59. Pinatud A Saleng Ti Umili (PSU)
60. Promotion of Church People’s Response – Hong Kong (PCPR-HK)
61. Sacred Heart Canossian Prayer Group
62. Saranay ti La Paz Overseas (SaLO)
63. St. Anne Filipino Group
64. St. Benedict English Choir
65. St. Benedict Parish Filipino Community
66. St. Jerome English Community (Tin Shui Wai, NT)
67. St. Mary’s Catholic Group
68. St. Teresa Filipino Community (Prince Edward, KLN)
69. St. Thomas the Apostle English Community
70. Sta Maria De Pila Association
71. Sto. Nino de Praga Sunday Group
72. Suyo Ilocos Sur Association (SISA)
73. Taga Cebu Hong Kong Chapter
74. Timpuyog ti Tayum
75. Tineg Overseas Association
76. United Filipinos in Hong Kong (UNIFIL-MIGRANTE-HK)
77. United Pangasinan Hong Kong (UPHK)
78. Villasis Pangasinan Organization (VPO)
79. Volunteer Catechists
80. Women of Philippine Independent Church (WOPIC) Antique
secretariat@unifil.org.hk
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