For the love of pork…

PerryScope
By Perry Diaz

In just a matter of three weeks since his State of the Nation Address (SONA), President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III’s world turned upside down. Once admired for his anti-corruption crusade with a nice-sounding slogan,“Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap,” P-Noy is now feeling the heat from the people who are demanding the abolition of the controversial Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel.”

It all began when agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) rescued a certain Benhur Luy who claimed that he was detained for three months against his will by his former employer and cousin, Janet “jenny” Lim Napoles and her brother, Reynald “Jojo” Lim. Consequently, charges of “serious illegal detention” were filed against the siblings.  Last August 15, the Makati Regional Trial Court issued an arrest warrant against them.  However, they have eluded arrest and are now on the run.

Whistleblowers Benhur Luy and Marilyn Sunas

Subsequently, Luy started singing like a canary, exposing Napoles for running a scam on the pork barrel allocations of some senators and congressmen to the tune of P10 billion in the past 10 years.  Luy identified five senators and 23 congressmen as having been in collusion with Napoles to divert their pork barrel funds to 20 allegedly bogus non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which Napoles had set up using dummies. 

A few days ago, Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle, speaking at a press conference, condemned the alleged pork barrel scam as “heartbreaking.” “Who will not be shocked with these reports and with the magnitude of money involved?” he said.  “It’s like your heart is broken into pieces. Can one really do this to one’s neighbor? Can one really stomach causing this kind of damage

Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle

on the country?”  He then broke into tears when he challenged the politicians and those involved in the “intricate web” of corruption to visit the poor and slum areas. He added that a simple glimpse of a family unfolding carton boxes for them to have a place to sleep would already break their hearts. (Source: CBCP News, August 15, 2013)

Meanwhile, the Senate and the House of Representatives decided against conducting an investigation on the alleged pork barrel scam.  Many believe that congressional leaders are ill at ease about investigating their own members.

COA Chief Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan

According to a recent news article, Commission on Audit (COA) Chief Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan was quoted as saying, “At least 12 senators and around 180 congressmen, through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), funneled P6.156 billion in pork barrel funds to 82 questionable NGOs from 2007 to 2009.”  She also said that 10 of the NGOs had links to Napoles and another six had links to sponsoring lawmakers through their relatives.  COA records show that the NGOs linked to Napoles received P2.157 billion during that period.  These were the results from a two-year special audit that the COA conducted.

Mother of all scams

Janet Lim Napoles

The article, “PDAF: How it works,” The Philippine Star, August 17, 2013),describes the mechanics of PDAF process as follows: “The process of releasing PDAF allocations starts with a senator or congressman making a request for the release of his or her allocation. A project list accompanies the request. Projects are drawn from a menu specified in the annual budget law.

“The request is sent to the Senate finance committee, in the case of a senator, or the House appropriations committee, in the case of a House member. The committee chairman endorses it to the Senate president or the Speaker, who then forwards it to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

“The DBM makes sure that the project list conforms to the menu in the budget law. It then releases the funds to the implementing agency identified by the lawmaker, who is furnished a copy of the release document known as special allotment release order (SARO).

“The lawmaker is not supposed to meddle in project implementation. But in reality, as Commission on Audit (COA) Chairperson Grace Pulido-Tan said yesterday, they chose the non-government organizations (NGOs) that received their funds and implemented their projects.”

And this is where the scam is pulled off.  When the implementing agencies receive the PDAF funds, they just turn around and transfer the money to the NGOs, which the lawmakers identify.  According to Luy, Napoles and the lawmakers would split the funds 70-30 with the lawmakers getting the bigger share.   

 Godfather of pork barrel 

Source: Department of Budget and Management

An article in the Malaya Business Insight last August 19 said: “President Aquino can already claim at least one historical distinction: He is the country’s first chief executive to purposely fatten the budget for pork, or what is officially called the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).   In his 2011 budget, the first he submitted to Congress, Aquino increased the budget for pork by 223 percent, or from P6.9 billion in 2010 to P22.3 billion.  In 2012, Aquino raised the pork budget further to P24.89 billion. Next year, it is set to climb to P30 billion.”

But that is peanuts compared to P-Noy’s own pork barrel. At a press conference, Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares said more than P1 trillion of presidential pork barrel is hidden in the P2.268 trillion 2014 national budget, which Congress couldn’t scrutinize.  In addition, he has at his disposal more than P100 billion from the Malampaya funds, which Congress could never scrutinize.   

Mother of pork barrel

Cory Aquino and son Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III

It is interesting to note that the PDAF can trace its provenance to 1989 when P-Noy’s mother Cory created the Mindanao Development Fund (MDF) and the Visayas Development Fund (VDF), with and appropriation of P480 million and P240 million, respectively. In 1990, the MDF and VDF were combined and expanded nationwide as the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) with an appropriation of P2.3 billion.  In 2000, the CDF was renamed PDAF.  Makes one wonder if P-Noy sees PDAF as his mother’s legacy and hence is determined to defend PDAF while increasing his own pork barrel and the lawmakers’ pork barrel allocations.

Quo vadis, P-Noy?

Sad to say, corruption will always be around for as long as the pork barrel system works the way it is now.  There are only two viable options: reform or abolish the PDAF. However, P-Noy is standing firm in defense of PDAF, saying, “It is the process that needs changing,” and added that while the pork barrel can be abused, it can also be put into good use.  Does he mean that he would tolerate a certain amount of “abuse”?  If so, then his anti-corruption crusade is a failure.  He must pursue a “zero tolerance” policy to succeed in fighting corruption.

For the love of pork, P-Noy is putting his presidency on the line.  He is walking on shaky ground and could lose his place in history as a “man of destiny.”  Instead he could sink into oblivion and fade into the dustbin of history.

Mr. President, you have a grand  opportunity to achieve the greatness accorded to your parents by a grateful nation.  Please don’t let your people down.  Abolish the pork barrel, now!

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)