By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
InterAksyon.com
The online news portal of TV5
MANILA, Philippines – President Benigno Aquino III allegedly allowed the continued use by lawmakers of “hidden congressional pork” despite a ruling by the Supreme Court declaring the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) unconstitutional.
This is the main contention of a group of teachers and academics that was lodging an impeachment complaint on Monday, the fourth so far against the President.
The complaint is not yet officially filed, but has been received by staff at the Office of the Secretary General of the House Representatives, as the head of the office, Marilyn Barua-Yap, was not around.
Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said the complaint “must be filed and sworn to before the Secretary General” to be considered a verified complaint.
The complainants went straight to the Speaker’s Office with the copies of their complaint.
The fourth complaint has to be verified, received by the Speaker’s Office, and then sent to the rules committee for referral to the committee on justice. The first three impeachment complaints are now with the rules committee and awaiting referral to the justice panel. Once referred to the committee, the one-year ban on the filing of impeachment complaint against an impeachable official takes effect.
“President Aquino is perpetuating hidden, informal practices whereby legislators have entitlement to lump-sum public funds in the form of House pork, or the funds realigned from deleted PDAF items in the 2014 national budget,” the 16 complainants said.
“This continued existence of the illegal congressional pork under the direction and license of Aquino amounts to his betrayal of public trust and culpable violation of the Constitution,” they added.
The complaint referred to the P25.2 billion PDAF fund originally proposed under the 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA), but which was channeled to six agencies following the high court’s ruling on the PDAF.
The agencies were Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Public Works and Highways, Department of Labor and Employment, Commission on Higher Education, and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.
Earlier, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said that lawmakers can still propose projects to these agencies utilizing the former PDAF money as long as they comply with the rules and regulations of the agencies.
The complainants included as evidence audio recordings and “public admissions” by officials of at least three agencies handling “that pork still exists through unwritten, informal practices.”
These include: one, an audio recording of an executive session recently conducted by the House committee on appropriations to discuss with CHED’s Secretary Patricia Licuanan the agency’s scholarship program; two, an audio recording of Health Undersecretary Janette Garin during a briefing with House members to discuss the DOH medical assistance program; and, three, official press releases and news articles bearing admissions of DOLE regional directors that their offices invite and allow participation of lawmakers in the implementation of emergency employment and government internship programs.
The complainants said that Aquino was “fully aware that the legislators’ post-enactment authority or their entitlement to particular earmarked funds prohibited by the (Supreme Court) decision is alive and oinking in the post-PDAF budget.”
They added that the President “is fully aware of, if not endorsing, the outlawed informal practices going on within his Cabinet.”
The complainants were ACT partylist Representative Antonio Tinio, National Artist for Literature Bienvenido Lumbera, Cynthia Lumbera, ACT chairperson Benjamin Valbuena, Francisca Castro, Vladimer Quetua, Dr. Priscilla Ampuan, Joselyn Martinez, Louie Zabala, Cleve Kevin Robert Arguelles, Veronica Gregorio, Felix Parinas, Dr. Ramon Guillermo, Dr. Gerardo Lanuza, Sarah Jane Raymundo, and, Emmanuel Leyco.
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