Sunday, August 16, 2009

P1 pork barrel for each solon proposed

By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines — A member of the House of Representatives on Monday proposed a P1 allocation for each lawmaker’s pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to ensure that the fund would not be used for the 2010 election campaign.

The amount originally allotted to congressmen and senators as their PDAF in the 2010 budget proposal by Malacanang could be re-channeled to meet the shortages in teacher positions, classroom, textbooks, chairs, and laboratories in public school, Representative Teddy Casino said at the minority’s weekly news conference.

Casino’s proposal directly runs counter with the earlier proposal of Sorsogon Representative Jose Solis to increase the PDAF of each lawmaker by P30 million.

Each congressman receives P70 million and each senator gets P200 million under the current budget.

Casino said increasing lawmakers’ pork barrel allocation increases the risk of government money being spent for the 2010 elections.

He said lawmakers can instead propose projects under line items of departments under the proposed budget.

“The threat of one-peso budget has always been used by Congress to get what it wants from an agency. Perhaps it is time congressmen get a taste of their own medicine,” he said.

“Let’s allocate one peso for the pork barrel and let the various nominated projects of congressmen undergo line item budgeting and the public scrutiny it deserves,” he added.

(Comment: This is precisely the one item in my candidacy to be implemented. Matagal ko ng minumungkahi ito or better yet NO PORK BARREL sa lahat ng mga lawmakers ng bansa para matigil na ang corruption na sanhi nito. There is no law in the country that says that these corrupt lawmakers (karamihan, hindi lahat) should receive pork barrel. Pansariling kapritso lang naman nila ito and this has been going on for years and years. Imbis na magamit ang mga perang ito sa tamang ahensiya o proyekto ng bansa, napupunta lamang ito sa bulsa ng mga corrupt officials na ito. Matagal na tayong niloloko at pinagnanakawan, naka smile pa rin tayo! Common on, Filipino lawmakers, huwag na tayong maglokohan! Alam na ng maraming Pilipino ito kaya kung hindi kayo mabubuhay dahil walang pork barrel, magsialisan na lang kayo sa puwesto n'yo and let new and young Filipino politicians do your jobs para umasenso na ang bayan natin. Kung ayaw n'yo ng ganitong arrangement, sa Mars na lang kayo tumira kasama ang mga alipores n'yo at kapwa corrupt officials!).