Enrile, Angara biggest ‘pork’ recipients

MANILA, Philippines - Resigned Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile has received the biggest pork barrel allocation over a five-year period, even if he has yet to touch his P200-million allocation for this year.

Monitoring by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) shows that Enrile received P727.7 million in 2009, P161.650 million in 2010, P96 million in 2011, P199 million in 2012, and P5 million this year, representing his previous years’ balance, for a total of P1.189 billion.

The congressional pork barrel is officially called Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). Each senator is entitled to P200 million PDAF a year. Members of the House of Representatives may each avail of P70 million PDAF every year. The DBM website shows PDAF releases only from 2009.

The amount Enrile received in PDAF a year before President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ended her nine-year term is more than his combined releases during the Aquino administration.

The second biggest PDAF recipient is outgoing Sen. Edgardo Angara. He received P405 million in 2009, P100 million in 2010, another P100 million in 2011, P194.9 million last year, and P90 million this year, for a total of P889.9 million.

In third place is acting Senate President Jinggoy Estrada. Some P191.1 million was released to him in 2009, P99 million in 2010, P100 million in 2011, P195 million in 2012, and P95.5 million this year, for a total of P680.6 million.

Two outgoing senators – Francis Pangilinan and Manuel Villar Jr. – received a total of P612.2 million and P440 million, respectively.

Two others who are completing their 12 years in the Senate – Joker Arroyo and Panfilo Lacson – have not been availing themselves of their P200-million annual PDAF since their election, saving nearly P5 billion in taxpayers’ money.

Gregorio Honasan, Loren Legarda, Alan Peter Cayetano, Antonio Trillanes IV, Francis Escudero, and Aquilino Pimentel III, who have just been reelected, received P593 million, P575.5 million, P462.5 million, P458.9 million, P444.5 million, and P267.3 million, respectively.

The biggest amounts were released to them last year, in the run-up to the elections in May: P256.7 million to Cayetano, P206.6 million to Legarda, P197.2 million to Escudero, P200 million to Honasan, and P253.6 million to Trillanes.

In the case of Pimentel, P167.3 million was released to him this year, although the amount represents previous years’ balances.

He took over from resigned Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri in August 2011. Zubiri received a total of P142.1 million. He did not touch his PDAF the year he gave up his Senate seat.

The other former and incumbent senators and their total PDAF are Pia Cayetano, P464.8 million; Franklin Drilon, P289.5 million; Richard Gordon, P194 million; Lito Lapid, P501 million; Jamby Madrigal, P94 million; Miriam Defensor Santiago, P545 million. Teofisto Guingona III, P376.9 million, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., P370 million; Sergio Osmeña III, P302.5 million; Ralph Recto, P350 million; and Vicente Sotto III, P450 million.

Ramon Revilla Jr. has received a total of P566 million, including P266 million in 2009 when Arroyo was president. He chairs Lakas, the ruling party during the Arroyo administration.

There are also no entries for 2009 and 2010 for then Senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Roxas II, who sought the presidency and vice presidency, respectively, in the 2010 elections.

This means that Arroyo did not release the PDAF funds of Aquino and Roxas.