MANILA, Philippines - Lawmakers’ allocations from the P25-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) will now be good only for one year, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) said yesterday.
“Starting with the 2013 GAA (General Appropriations Act), all appropriations will now only have a one-year life span,†it said.
The DBM said in previous years, “appropriations for PDAF, like those for maintenance and other operating expenditures and capital outlays, were valid for two years.â€
It added that limiting the validity of appropriations would force agencies to spend funds during the year for which Congress appropriated them.
PDAF is the official name of the congressional pork barrel. It allocates P200 million for each senator and P70 million for each member of the House of Representatives.
The DBM issued the statement to clarify reports that several senators exceeded their P200-million pork barrel allocations in 2012. While the releases indeed amounted to more than P200 million, part of the funds represented the senators’ PDAF balances for 2011, it said.
The budget department cited the cases of senators Pia Cayetano, her brother Alan Peter, Antonio Trillanes IV, Teofisto Guingona III, Francis Pangilinan, and Loren Legarda.
In 2012, the six senators received P277.1 million, P256.7 million, P253.6 million, P229.4 million, P227.2 million, and P206.6 million, respectively.
Parts of those releases were drawn against the 2011 PDAF: P127.1 million for Pia Cayetano, P66.5 million for Alan Cayetano, P37 million for Guingona, P11.1 million for Legarda, P33 million for Pangilinan, and P53.6 million for Trillanes.
Thus, funds charged against the 2012 pork barrel amounted to P190.2 million for Pia Cayetano, P150 million for Alan Cayetano, P192.4 million for Guingona, P195.5 million for Legarda, P194.2 million for Pangilinan, and P200 million for Trillanes.
The other senators and their 2012 fund releases are Edgardo Angara, P194 million; Franklin Drilon, P179 million (of which P79 million was for 2011); Jinggoy Estrada, P195 million; Juan Ponce Enrile, P199 million (P4 million for 2011); Francis Escudero, P197.2 million; Ferdinand Marcos Jr., P199 million; Serge Osmea, P102.3 million (P2.3 million for 2011); Ralph Recto, P177 million; and Manuel Villar Jr., P190 million.
Gregorio Honasan, Lito Lapid, Ramon Revilla Jr., Miriam Defensor-Santiago, and Vicente Sotto III have all availed of their P200-million allocation for last year. They had no balances for 2011.
Some P59 million had been released to Aquilino Pimentel III for 2011 and none for 2012. Joker Arroyo and Panfilo Lacson have not been using their P200 million yearly allocation since their election to the Senate.