Duterte to ask Congress about alleged inclusion of over P35B pork barrel in 2020 budget

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte wants Congress to clarify the reported inclusion of more than P35 billion in "pork barrel" funds in the proposed P4.1-trillion budget for next year.

Duterte said he would like to know the nature of the funds, which was reportedly intended to bankroll projects identified by lawmakers. 

"I have not heard (of the report). When we come to the liaison between the Congress and executive department, we will bring this up. What is the nature and dimension? Is it for the maintenance or for the committee hearings? Any hearing you have to spend. You go to the provinces, you have to spend," the president said in a chance interview Thursday in Malacañan. 

"I'm going to ask. We are in the stage of preparing the budget," he added. 

READ: Duterte okays proposed P4.1-T national budget for 2020

The STAR reported yesterday that more than P35 billion in pork barrel funds of lawmakers would be included in the 2020 budget to be submitted by the executive department to Congress next week. 

Each House member would be given P100 million while each senator would receive P200 million, according to a lawmaker. The Budget department has reportedly asked lawmakers to come up with a list of projects for their districts and constituencies.

Allocations for the 305 House members totaled P30.5 million while the funds for the 24 senators totaled P4.8 billion. 

READ: P35-B ‘pork’ to be embedded in 2020 budget

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the report about the pork barrel funds has to be verified even as he assured the public that the administration would heed the court's ruling on the congressional allocations. 

The Supreme Court declared pork barrel, then formally known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund, as unconstitutional because it violated the separation of powers by allowing lawmakers to wield non-oversight, post-enactment authority in vital areas of budget executions.

"We will have to validate that. We’ll have to ask DBM (Department of Budget and Management) on that," Panelo said in a press briefing. 

"The policy of the government is whatever the Supreme Court says, we abide by it," he added. 

Panelo said it would be up to the courts to decide on whether the giving of funds for lawmakers' projects is illegal.

"It will now depend on the Supreme Court if someone files a case before it questioning such kind of as you call it circumvention if it does fall within the prohibition as stated by the Supreme Court," the presidential spokesman said.