Candidates quiet on pork barrel

Candidates quiet on pork barrel

By Ven Del Pilar Faundo

The month of May is fast approaching and election fever is heating up among politicians and party supporters. The candidates are starting to lay out their party platforms making comparisons and strengthening their different qualifications from the other candidates and as usual offering promises up to high heavens. There will be no raising of new taxes in his administration if elected. Another said that there will be no nepotism, no cronyism and no granting of contracts to businessmen without due process of submitting tenders and bids. Still others promised that there will be no overspending of public funds for personal junkets, vacations and entertainment. Almost all of them promised that they will not fall to commit the sins of the traditional politicians that is graft and corruption whether it is of blatant or the hidden variety. All of them promised that there will be accountability in their governance.

I have yet to hear a politician specially the presidential aspirants promising to work towards the abolition of the American style PORK BARREL which in 1990 redesignated with innocent sounding name of Countrywide Development Fund (CDF ), and when this newly named system still reeks, it was rebaptized in 2000 with the current monicker Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

It is true that in the constitution, congress has the power of the purse and appropriation while the executive branch has the mandate to approve or veto the resolution of congress. However, inadvertently, almost half of the appropriated funds for the projects ends up in the pocket of corrupt officials in connivance with unethical businessmen. The result is a substandard work condoned by contractors and government officials alike.

The executive branch has the larger Pork Barrel hidden in the intelligence, confidential and representation projects and controls the releasing of the fund. The president implicitly say to the legislators to cooperate and you get your Pork Barrel and play hard- to-get and you get next to nothing. The 2008/2009 Philippine Human Development Report ( PHDR) blames the executive branch for the spread and encouragement of graft and corruption but the people know better that both branches the executive and the legislative branches are both equally guilty in dipping their dirty hands into the Pork Barrel.

The ordinary people not benefited by the immoral although legal largesse from the Pork Barrel are too timid to complain or file grievances against the TraPos for fear of reprisals from their private armies and henchmen or high powered lawyers in the their pay.

Although the Supreme Court of the Philippines has ruled in 1994 case of Enriquez et al against Philippines Constitutional Association that Pork Barrel System is constitutional, in reality however , this system and practice encourages and fosters the prostitution of the separation of the executive branch and the legislative branch. The latter branch because of the machinations and evil double dealing of the Pork Barrel System usurps the functions of the former branch such as the secretary of public works, education and health minisries and others.

There is hardly any occasion for a soft infrastructure project like scholarships, medical assistance and such or any hard infrastructure projects like roads, bridges and buildings and others, that is not tainted with corruptions and kickbacks. It is usually a case of you scratch my back and I scratch yours. In common parlance Pork Barrel or any other name such as PDAF or CDF is almost already synonymous with corruption since it is highly susceptible to corrupt practices inspite of provisions and safeguards and accountability provided in the system.

The original name of this system Pork Barrel insinuates the derisive tradition of its American origin of unbridled patronage or spoils of political wars. This system still smells even disguised as CDF or PDAF just like the opposite adage of a rose is a rose and smells as sweet by any other name.

There has to be another method of completing soft or hard infrastructure projects other than what the Philippines has now. The Filipino Nation is waiting for a presidential aspirant or a congressional candidate to make a promise, admittedly difficult to keep but not impossible to realize, to abrogate totally the Pork Barrel System also known as CDF and PDAF, and not replaced with any new name. The Filipino People deserve a Pork Barrel free government after so many years of wallowing in this graft and corruption infested / prone system of Pork Barrel.

Will the candidate with the real interest of the long suffering Filipino Nation in his heart please stand up and be counted. Please abolish the Pork Barrel System in any form or name. We the people salute you and we will support you in your endeavour. We will write in and voice out our plea and demand starting with this article.

(Contributed article)