Noy suspends ‘pork’ releases pending probe

MANILA, Philippines - President Aquino has ordered the suspension of the release of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) to lawmakers until the National Bureau of Investigation completes its probe into the P10-billion scam.

At the same time, Aquino told GMA News in an interview that two to three lawmakers would be the first to be charged among the more than 40 currently under investigation for alleged misuse of pork barrel funds.

He said the three lawmakers’ PDAF use showed a clear pattern of irregularity. PDAF is the official name of the congressional pork barrel.

Aquino said there are still loopholes in PDAF disbursement that need to be plugged. Plugging loopholes, according to Aquino, can be as simple as looking into the results or checking where funds actually end up.

He said this was the same as the performance-based bonus for government workers.

Aquino said some government-owned and controlled corporations would also be dissolved because funds were being allocated to them even when they were no longer functioning.

He cited the Zamboanga Rubber Estate Corp. as example. 

Aquino earlier said that instead of supporting calls for the abolition of PDAF, he would rather see measures set in place to shield it from corruption and ensure punishment for anyone found misusing it.

In an ambush interview after attending the Pambansang Kongreso ng Wika at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City, Aquino said it was the outrage over the P10-billion pork barrel scam that triggered calls for the abolition of PDAF, the official name of the congressional pork barrel. Also seen to have inflamed perception against PDAF was a Commission on Audit (COA) report detailing how some non-government organizations had connived with some lawmakers to corner huge chunks of the fund.

At the center of the controversy was businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles whose fabulous wealth was believed to have come from her questionable dealings with some lawmakers.

“In everything, there is such a thing as good use and misuse,” Aquino said. “But I suppose, if you look at the COA (report), it did not say all. There were those identified as misuse of parts of the pork barrel or PDAF,” he said.

The President said his position was based on his own experience as a new Tarlac congressman, who had thought about forgoing his PDAF but would later find it to be beneficial if properly used.

He said a barangay captain had told him of the near impossibility of getting funds for the needs of his town unless they get a visit from a sympathetic Cabinet official.

Aquino said he used his PDAF for the repair of the MacArthur Highway, a national road not covered by congressional funds. He said the project had immensely benefited the people.

It would have been unfair, Aquino said, if he had not spent his PDAF on the project.

He said lawmakers, particularly district representatives, are in a better position to determine and attend to the needs of their constituents.

He said it’s not realistic to assume that the national government can attend to all the needs of the people.

“That’s a bit difficult. So (PDAF) use must be fixed,” Aquino said.

He said there should be “more restrictions and safeguards” in the use of PDAF.

He admitted there is room for improvement although loopholes in the disbursement of PDAF have largely been plugged under his administration. 

Scrap ‘pork’

At the Senate, five senators voiced support for the abolition of PDAF.

“Only P-Noy can abolish the PDAF by simply excluding it from the National Expenditure Program. I will support him if he would do so,” Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said.

“Before, he has a bias for it but the public pressure may make such position untenable. At the very least, drastic reforms should be undertaken to prevent the PDAF from being misused and abused by the legislators,” Trillanes added. – With Sheila Crisostomo, Mayen Jaymalin, Zinnia dela Peña, Jess Diaz, Jennifer Rendon, Paolo Romero, Christina Mendez, Marvin Sy