MANILA (Mindanao Examiner / Aug. 23, 2013) – A Filipino youth group called Anakbayan said President Benigno Aquino’s plan to “overhaul” the Priority Development Assistance Fund enjoyed by lawmakers would likely lead to an “expanded, unlimited, and invisible” pork barrel system.
It said the Aquino pork barrel plan is a deceptive ploy to bank on the people’s anger against PDAF and corruption in order to breed an animal more monstrous.
Aquino said he abolished the pork barrel, but Anakbayan said it was only a “doublespeak” because under his new system, the congressmen will merely have to propose their projects to the Executive branch and include them as line items in the General Appropriations Act instead of a lump sum allotted for them.
Members of Congress get P70 annually in PDAF while senators are given P200 million each for their so-called soft projects.
Vencer Crisostomo, of Anakbayan, said: “This, for one, means greater Palace pork barrel concentration and more under Aquino control and discretion. It is no wonder that Budget Secretary Florencio Abad is smiling when Aquino announced the abolition of PDAF in a televised broadcast.”
He said this also effectively makes the pork barrel unlimited for Aquino’s allies in Congress and Senate.
“Note that Aquino said nothing about the amount of the planned congressional pork. It is also invisible as it is now hidden in the line item budget of the various agencies. It is now also being expanded to include local governments, civil society groups and nongovernmental organizations,” he said.
20