CBCP supports the People’s Initiative to abolish the pork barrel system
The people’s initiative to abolish the pork barrel system got a big boost from the recently concluded plenary assembly of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.
The Catholic Bishops agreed to support the people’s initiative, which aims to enact a law that abolishes presidential and congressional pork barrel, prohibits and criminalizes appropriation and use of lump sum discretionary funds and mandates line item budgeting.
The CBCP’s decision comes at a time when the Catholics nationwide are celebrating 2014 as “The Year of the Laity”.
During the discussion of various issues under the CBCP Committee on the Laity, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma appealed to his colleagues to give moral blessing and backing to two people’s initiatives – that of the People’s Initiative to Abolish Pork Barrel and the People’s Initiative Against Political Dynasties.
“In order to put a final lid on the pork barrel system, specifically in the legislative and executive branches of government, we support the proposal from anti-pork barrel groups in the whole country that the sovereign people use the 1987 Philippine Constitution provision on the passage of a law through the people’s initiative,” Archbishop Palma said.
The anti-pork people’s initiative is being spearheaded by the newly formed coalition, the People’s Initiative to Abolish Pork Barrel (PIAP).
PIAP includes the Abolish Pork Movement, Cebu Coalition Against Pork Barrel, Church People Against Pork Barrel, E-Pirma, Makabayan, Scrap Pork Network and Solidarity.
Many organizations also stand behind the people’s initiative in pushing to define and prohibit political dynasties. The CBCP had issued a pastoral statement in January 2013, denouncing the worsening problem of political dynasties nationwide.
After a discussion in the CBCP plenary, a consensus emerged to focus first and ensure the success of the people’s initiative to abolish the pork barrel system and next, the people’s initiative against political dynasty.
The CBCP saw the pork barrel as a burning and pressing issue that has sparked people’s outrage, providing favorable conditions for the initiative to end congressional and presidential pork barrel, a big source of corruption and patronage politics.
The Bishops agreed to back the August 23, 2014 People’s Congress being called by the coalition PIAP. The People’s Congress will finalize the people’s initiative proposed law against pork barrel and firm up plans for nationwide education and signature campaign. A kick-off rally will be held at Plaza Independencia on the same day to start the nationwide signature drive.
PRESS STATEMENT
July 8, 2014
For Reference: Sr. Mary John Mananzan (09178980637) * Marc Canton (09273493409) * Mae Paner (09178106145) * Atty. Alex Lacson (09285500712) * Manny SD Lopez (09179582735) * Fr. Ben Alforque (09178263496)
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Liberal Party and its Tyranny of Numbers
Aquino, Abad and Rep. Evardone Bastardizing Democracy, labor group says
AMIDST the snowballing calls for resignation and accountability from all sectors of society, the top-brass of the ruling party, the Liberal Party (LP) has not budged a bit and continued to assert their defenses for their involvement in the design and usage of unspent funds or the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).
Workers group Bukluran ng Manggawang Pilipino (BMP) claimed that the officials’ refusal to acknowledge and abide by the unanimous Supreme Court decision and consciously organizing the suppression of any impeachment moves in the Batasan Pambansa is the death “democracy” and the constitutional processes.
“Noynoy Aquino, Butch Abad and even Representative Ben Evardone (Eastern Samar) are not only bastardizing the very concept of democracy and fundamental principles of good government but are murdering democracy in front of our very eyes,” said Gie Relova of the BMP
He added that, “The suppression of a constitutionally-warranted impeachment process obscures every single letter of the Constitution; it stifles the fervor of an abused nation to seek justice for the billions of pesos in taxes quenched from their brow of every decent Filipino”
Since the Supreme Court declared part of the DAP unconstitutional, Malacanang has been claiming that they have done nothing wrong. Meanwhile, its allies in Congress led by Evardone have been busy issuing statements that they vow to block any and all efforts to impeach Aquino.
“If they, Aquino and his technocratic bureaucrats such as Abad and Cesar Purisima pledge innocence and uprightness, what do they have to fear in an impeachment court? That is what democracy is all about,” asserted Relova.
The group is seeking accountability and prosecution of all those involved in the blatant violation of the Constitutional provision limiting executive powers whether technocrat or elected official.
The labor leader also noted that the Aquino and his LP partymates are emulating then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s tactics in controlling its “co equal” branch of government, in an effort to block impeachment processes against her in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008.
“Its now a battle between the peoples’ resolve and thirst for justice versus the tyranny of numbers of the Liberal Party, the true enemies of democracy,” Relova surmised.
Relova warned that, “The cumulative pent up anger of the Filipino nation in its search for justice and accountability against corrupt Presidents coupled with low wages, contractualization of labor, high prices and abandonment of social services shall eventually explode like a massive social volcano reaching unprecedented political heights”.
Despite the ruling party’s insistence of committing no wrongdoing, Relova says that, “Justice will not be served in a silver platter and the axe must be wielded firmly by an aggrieved and desolate people, led by the deprived working class”.
“Let the axe fall where it should,” he concluded.
Press Release
04 July 2014
Contact person:
Mr. Gie Relova
0915-2862555
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The labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) today added its voice to the mounting call to have the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) subjected to a special audit after the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional.
PM said Malacañang’s defense that there was nothing wrong in it since it was done in good faith is flatly self-serving as DAP’s worth needs to be proven beyond the realm of motives or intentions.
Likewise the claim that DAP boasted our economic growth is even more fallacious.
“We leave the legal issues to lawyers, the moral intentions to priests, and the political flavor of it, for a while, to rival politicians. Our main and immediate interest here is to know whether DAP money had gone in the same manner PDAF had been squandered,” stated PM chairperson Renato Magtubo.
Magtubo said the political context when DAP was concocted and eventually released has overly been discussed. “What we want to know now is whether a DAP released to a lawmaker’s left hand is better spent than a PDAF released to his/her right hand.”
The former partylist representative said a special audit for used and unused DAP funds may either clear many issues or uncover the same pattern of fraud committed under PDAF. Or may be worse.
“Assuming the crime was repeated, the political discussion should therefore lead to a conclusion that the whole system is terribly wrong,” said Magtubo.
The group believes that funds released under DAP and received by the same hands that made PDAF their personal piggy banks are tainted with corruption. Thus the need for a special audit, perhaps deeper and wider than the audit made on PDAF.
At the height of the pork barrel scam PM had pushed for, as part of reforms in the budget system, the concept of a universal social protection fund with a clearly defined social purpose yet completely isolated from the hands of corrupt politicians.
PRESS RELEASE
Partido ng Manggagawa
4 July 2014
Contact: Renato Magtubo @ 09178232905
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MANILA, Philippines– A coalition of Catholic clergy, religious and laity on Monday staged a protest calling for the total abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel.
The Church of People’s Alliance held a Lantern Nativity Walk from Bustillos Church to Mendiola in Manila with the message to Malacañang: abolish the pork barrel system in the government.
“We remain committed to abolish all forms of pork barrel from all agencies of the government. We want Congress to pass a law that will totally scrap PDAF and even the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP),” said Fr. Ben Alforque of Church People’s Alliance.
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On the week of the 18-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women (VAW) Health advocates push for the allocation of funds for women andchildren-friendly safety spaces in disaster and conflict areas
December 13, 2013
ALTERNATIVE BUDGET INITIATIVE (ABI) – HEALTH
On the day of the open Bicameral Conference (BICAM) and on the week of the18-Day Campaign to End VAW, health and women rights advocates pushedlegislators to allocate funds, sourced from the approved PhP100-billionCalamity and Rehabilitation Fund and PhP14.6-billion Supplemental budget, forthe establishment of women and children-friendly safety spaces in disasterand conflict-affected areas.
According to Mercy Fabros of the Alternative Budget Initiative HealthCluster (ABI-Health), “our call today is very timely. As we commemorate the18-Day Campaign to End VAW, our society especially our government shouldvow to protect its women and children against violence and abuse. Sincefunds are available for calamity and rehabilitation, let us allocate a goodportion to build safety spaces for women, children and other vulnerablesectors in disaster-ravaged communities.”
Women and children-friendly spaces are places where these sectors cansafely do their everyday routine, move around, sleep, breastfeed, play andwatch over their children anytime of the day especially at night. It is anaccessible space for the internally-displaced women and girls where theirwelfare is promoted and organized, gender-responsive services are provided.
“This early, we have been hearing stories of sexual abuse and exploitationfrom the ground being experienced by both survivors and caregivers. This isunacceptable! For us, even in emergency situations like this, order,security and protection should never be compromised. In fact, it should bea standard operating procedure integrated in the government’s immediateresponse to disasters and conflicts,” Fabros stressed.
In the lined-up amendments of the Senate for the 2014 National GovernmentBudget, almost a total of PhP144-billion has been identified to be spentfor disaster-related expenses such quick response, disaster risk reductionmanagement (DRRM), relief and reconstruction. “We just hope that there is aplace for women and children in the allocation of these identified funds,not only for infrastructure but also for the protective mechanisms thatcome along with it,” Fabros added.
Lessons and reports from international disasters such as Hurricane Katrina,Haiti earthquake and the Indian Ocean tsunami have shown that rape andsexual violence are not isolated incidents, but are part of a pattern ofbehaviour in disaster situations. While major relief agencies nowacknowledge this, gender-based violence is still generally a marginal issueand remains invisible in the public mind and under-reported by media.
Reports from the ground show that the same trend is happening now inYolanda-stricken areas where almost 75-80% of women and children survivorshave increased vulnerability to sexual exploitation and abuse. If this isnot prevented, about two percent or 61,000 women and girls (15-49 yearsold) will most likely experience such in humanitarian setting.
“At this time when there is a seeming quieting after the chaos, thegovernment might be able to listen well enough to the voices from theground especially that of the vulnerable women and children about theirneeds and plans for the future. To end VAW is everybody’s duty as what thisyear’s theme of the 18-day campaign says. However, the government shouldspearhead this. The allocation of funds for the protection of women andchildren including their long-term preparedness is one big step in theright direction,” Fabros said.
The ABI-Health Cluster is composed of 62 member organizations advocatingfor Universal Health Care. It is one of the clusters of ABI along withEducation, Agriculture, Social Protection, Environment and Persons withDisabilities Clusters. It is attached to Social Watch Philippines (SWP), anetwork of a hundred nongovernment organizations that, for eight years, hasbeen successfully pushing for increases in the national budgets for socialdevelopment, called for the realignment of P25 Billion allotted to theunconstitutional Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to nationalgovernment agencies’ programs to help victims of disasters and prevent moretragedies caused by super typhoons and other calamities. #30#
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Finally, the health of the Filipino people seizes to become just another target for political patronage of traditional politicians. This came as a result of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling that the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) is unconstitutional. With this latest development, health advocates have welcomed this as a hard-won gain of the mass movement’s continuing struggle.
Public finance in health is one of the critical issues in the people’s fight against the pork barrel system. PDAF is only 5.5 percent of the Special Purpose Fund (SPF), one of the presidential pork barrel funds. Therefore, the fight to scrap the other lump sum, discretionary funds continues.
Medical assistance for service patients, along with scholarships, has always been the justifications of politicians on why PDAF should stay. However, the recent review of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) of PDAF showed that these items got morsels from the billions of pesos spent for pork, only PhP3 billion or six to eight percent of the total pork released from July 2010 to June 2013.
According to Mercy Fabros, ABI-Health Cluster Coordinator, “for the longest time, poor people knock on the offices of congress representatives and senators like beggars begging alms for medical assistance; Because their mindset has been clouded by the assistance their receiving, the people do not fully understand that PDAF is sourced from their own money (taxes). It is their right to access health services and the obligation of the government to provide them. The evil of the system of patronage lies in the fact that it imprisons people constantly in a morally-degrading relationship with politicians.”
About PhP25.2 billion funds will be freed-up in the 2014 National Government Budget, which can be used to finance programs that would genuinely contribute to the achievement of Universal Health Care (UHC). The Department of Health (DoH) could use this opportunity to make its budget a real leap forward by adopting ABI Health Cluster’s proposed alternative budget.
Now the rendering of PDAF as unconstitutional and forwarding of funds instead to frontline agencies such as the DOH insulates health services from politics.
“For the 2013 additional, PDAF-sourced funds, while we understand the need still for medical assistance through the set-up voucher’s system, DoH could also use the funds to restore basic health systems at least in the Yolanda-stricken areas that could provide more health services for the survivors,” Fabros added.
Access to health services is a right and it is the state’s obligation to do so. Traditional politicians have no business using need for medical assistance as a ticket to buy votes and make people dependent on their bleeding hearts. Clearly, the fight against PDAF is a battle half-won for health advocates because the biggest chunk of the pork barrel remains intact. Because it has opened more spaces for meaningful participation, this is now the best time to influence public health policy and budgeting.
The ABI-Health Cluster is composed of 62 member organizations advocating for Universal Health Care. It is one of the clusters of ABI along with Education, Agriculture, Social Protection, Environment and Persons with Disabilities Clusters. It is attached to Social Watch Philippines (SWP), a network of a hundred nongovernment organizations that, for eight years, has been successfully pushing for increases in the national budgets for social development, called for the realignment of P25 Billion allotted to the unconstitutional Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to national government agencies’ programs to help victims of disasters and prevent more tragedies caused by super typhoons and other calamities.
ALTERNATIVE BUDGET INITIATIVE (ABI) – HEALTH
Press Release
25 November 2013
Contact Persons:
Jofti Villena, Sarilaya, +63949.525.3494 (Media Liaison)
ABI Health Cluster: (632) 9273319, abihealth@gmail.com
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SC junks PDAF as unconstitutional
BY RAPPLER.COM
November 19, 2013
MANILA, Philippines (8th UPDATE) – The Supreme Court on Tuesday, November 19, declared as unconstitutional the legislators’ controversial pork barrel fund known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
The High Tribunal also struck down as illegal provisions in two laws that allow the President to use the Malampaya Fund and the President’s Social Fund for purposes beyond the mandate of the funds.
The vote against the PDAF was 14-0, according to Supreme Court spokesman Theodore Te. Associate Justice Presbitero Velasco Jr inhibited from the case because his son is a congressman. The ponente, or writer of the decision, is Associate Justice Estela Bernabe, an appointee of President Benigno Aquino III.
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Pork Barrel Primer
Tanong-Sagot ukol sa Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) at katiwalian sa gobyerno
Ang praymer na “Tanong-Sagot ukol sa Pork Barrel” ay inilathala upang maging gabay sa mga magtatalakay ng naturang isyu sa batayang masa – sa manggagawa’t maralita sa lungsod at kanayunan.
Ito ay sinulat ni “Pilipinong KonTRAPOrk” para sa Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM), Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP) at SANLAKAS. Ang nasabing mga organisasyon ay aktibong kasapi ng Kilusang KonTRAPOrk, isang kilusan laban sa trapong pulitika at katiwalian sa gobyerno. Maari siyang makontak sa pamamagitan ng email: pilipinongkontrapork@gmail.com.
Binubuo ito ng siyam (9) na seksyon, kung saan, bawat paksa ay sinimulan sa sumusunod na mga tanong:
Ano ang Pork Barrel?
Sino-sino ang may Pork Barrel?
Magkano ang Pork Barrel?
Saan Nagmumula ang Pork Barrel?
Ano ang Epekto ng Pork Barrel?
Totoo bang Nakikinabang ang Taumbayan sa Pork Barrel?
Ano ang Ugat ng Pork Barrel?
Ano ang Dapat Gawin sa Pork Barrel (at Pagbabadyet ng Gobyerno)?
Ano ang maari mong gawin para labanan ang “Pork Barrel”?
Naniniwala tayong ang pag-asa ng paglakas ng kilusan ng mamamayan laban sa katiwalian ay nakasalalay sa pagkilos ng naghihirap na seksyon ng populasyon, na siyang mayorya ng lipunang Pilipino.
Tumungo sa mga pabrika’t plantasyon, komunidad ng urban/rural poor, iskwelahan at simbahan. Mulatin, pakilusin at organisahin ang mamamayan para sa tunay na pagrereporma sa badyet ng gobyerno at sa paglaban sa bulok na pulitika ng mga trapo.
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The labor group Partido ng Manggagawa (PM) said that the Million People March Part 2 in Ayala today will be an opportunity for workers to “register their voice against the pork barrel and patronage politics.” “Both the venue and protest date are significant to workers. The Ayala district is home to at least one million blue and white collar job workers. Beginning today workers in NCR are due to receive a P10 crumb from the new Wage Order,” stated PM Chair Renato Magtubo.
Insisting that “Through the system of withholding taxes on our salaries and wages, and VAT on the goods and services we buy, workers do not only pay the right amount of taxes on time, we also disproportionately provide a greater share of our income to the national treasury,” the group expected Makati employees and workers to participate actively in the protest.
Magtubo said workers are enraged at how billions of pesos of taxes that were paid out of workers’ productivity are appropriated by corrupt politicians among themselves. “The new economic formula called Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), since illegal, is nothing but contraband smuggled into the pockets of lawmakers for a special job well done,” said Magtubo, referring to the additional allocation to lawmakers on top of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) after the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona.
The labor leader and former party-list representative added that DAP, as explained by Malacanang, is a stimulant for ‘miscarriage’ and not for ‘growth’ since its implementation is worse than the PDAF. “The best thing it was able to achieve was boost the spending spree or personal savings of politicians not the purchasing power of ordinary workers,” Magtubo concluded.
PM is advocating the rechanneling of funds freed by the abolition of pork barrel to universal social protection such as universal healthcare, mass housing, public education, public employment, climate programs, and other services. Magtubo appealed to anti-pork protesters “Not to stop at abolition and push for an alternative fund distribution system in which social services will be as accessible as a right and not subject to the patronage of politicians. The anti-pork protest should develop into a movement for universal social protection and also converge with the anti-epal, anti-trapo and anti-dynasty advocacies of the last elections. Such is a roadmap towards lasting political change in our country.”
Upon its issuance last month, PM described the P10 wage order an insult and a classic case of bigay-bawi since its value eventually eroded by the impending MRT rate hike, increase in price of rice, and the looming power and water rates increases. Amidst the backdrop of protruding corruption scandals in the highest levels of government, Magtubo said, “the workers’ need to deliver its strongest condemnation of this system: Enough of this kind of rule!”
PRESS RELEASE
Partido ng Manggagawa
4 October 2013
Contact: Renato Magtubo @ 09178532905
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Women’s Flashmob in Congress: Jail the Corrupt Lawmakers!
While welcoming the neophyte legislators’ manifesto on the 2014 Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), women’s groups belonging to the World March of Women-Pilipinas (WMW) and the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court (PC-ICC) want lawmakers to ensure the complete abolition of the entire pork barrel system, and the punishment of guilty legislators and their conspirators.
Women dancers who appeared to be lobbyists in formal attire started to occupy the Congress lobby at 2PM (September 10), to make a clear statement that creative actions will be sustained until they see the people’s victory on this issue. The House Committee on Appropriations will be held today (September 10) and the plenary debate is yet to happen on September 21.
“The abolition of all forms of pork is not even assured yet, and they refuse to touch the President’s pork,” said Jean Enriquez, Coordinator of WMW-Pilipinas. Enriquez added that the legislators’ basis for keeping the President’s pork is untenable.
The neophyte legislators earlier said that it cannot be touched because it is meant for calamities and emergency situations.
“It has already been proposed that the calamity fund within the Special Purpose Fund (SPF) could be allocated to the unit on climate change or disaster management. The other items under the SPF should similarly be allocated under the regular budgets of the pertinent government agencies,” remarked Enriquez.
“We propose that a reallocation of pork be towards social services, such as preventive and integrative healthcare,” according to Pangging Santos of SARILAYA.
“Malacanang’s reasoning that the SPF does not come from people’s taxes but from contributions of the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), among others, is non-sequitur. This is still public fund – the people’s money,” according Enriquez.
Becky Lozada, a member of the Philippine Coalition for the International Criminal Court, who joined the dance said “the PDAF scam is criminal considering the situation of poor people in the country. We are dancing today to show our protest but there is violence and armed conflict in the country because of massive poverty. Imagine what can be done if we abolish pork and put public funds to services for the people.”
Towards the end of the dance, the women took off their formal clothing to reveal shirts with the slogan “Scrap Pork!” They also held a banner with the message “Jail the Corrupt Lawmakers!”
The 30 flashmobbers of WMW include women from the Alliance of Progressive Labor-SENTRO, Bagong Kamalayan, CATW-AP, Center for Migrant Advocacy (CMA), KAISA-KA, SARILAYA, Pambansang Koalisyon ng mga Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), WomanHealth Philippines, and the Youth and Students Advancing Gender Equality (YSAGE). They pledged to appear elsewhere “until pork in all its forms is removed, thieves jailed and the Freedom of Information Act passed.”
Contact Person: Clydie Pasia 0917 525 0388
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Fund People’s Protection against Poverty and Inequality
President Benigno Aquino III’s pronouncement scrapping the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) could have been an affirmation of government’s subservience to people’s sovereignty, but the president chose to hoodwink the people and cheat on his own “matuwid na daan”.
He announced the abolition of the annual Php25 billion lump-sum appropriation and its removal from the discretion of lawmakers, but in the same breath offered it again as a multi-purpose fund for legislators. What makes this more suspicious is the president’s continued silence on his own and Vice-PresidentJejomar Binay’s discretionary funds of P450 billion and P200 million, respectively. Aside from the 7.8 % exclusionary GDP growth, this is another sign of PNoy’s misplaced priorities.
The Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP) denounces the president’s cheap tricks. People’s taxes are people’s funds and must be used for the benefit of the people.
Prioritize public spending on people’s protection against poverty and inequality
Official statistics show the country’s glaring poverty incidence and gross disparity in terms of access to resources and essential services. Measures should be implemented to ensure income and wealth redistribution, and protect the people already reeling from the financial crisis that threatens to get worse. PNoy should go beyond the confines of his current fragmented, temporary and palliative social assistance and institute a comprehensive and universal social protection program provisioning for a life of dignity for all. This includes:
Universal health care based on the primary health care principle that ensures the well-being of the citizenry and not limited interventions in times of illness;
Generation, not merely facilitation, of employment with living wages and of livelihoods protected against unfair competition and monopoly by big capitalists;
Guaranteed and quality education;
Living pension or subsidy for the elderly and the differently abled;
Socialized housing programs that guarantee adequate and humane shelter for all;
Access to and availability of basic services such as water, power and transportation.
Review budget laws and processes and ensure equitable sharing of national revenues
KAMP does not buy the line that only Senators and members of the House of Representatives know what development projects to propose and approve and how much of the people’s money should go to their favored districts and sectors. This lame excuse for patronage politics, in effect, continues to distort national economic planning and undermines development programs. Provided there are clear national priorities and responsive development plans, local development and resource allocations are best left to the local government units. This is based on the assumption that the pork barrel system is eliminated from the national down to the local level, and people’s participation is accepted as part of the political process.
Lump-sum funds or lawmaker-sponsored projects only foster increased reliance on favors from the president and the legislators. The question of ensuring that territorial and political subdivisions get equitable share of national revenues immediately calls for a review of the Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) formula and criteria to check if these are still relevant to the current needs of localities.
The pork barrel scandals involving public officials also point to the need to fix loopholes in budget laws and processes starting with the review and amendment of the Administrative Act of 1987. The national budget exercise has been corrupted to an extent that the “power of the purse” which used to be exercised by Congress to check and balance the president’s fiscal powers has been surrendered by legislators more concerned with getting a substantive slice of public funds.
Strengthen mechanisms for people’s participation; Pass FOI bill
PNoy administration’s bottom-up planning and budgeting approach is a welcome effort to encourage people’s involvement in determining projects responsive to their needs. The process, however, should be more inclusive of the wide range of civil society formations. Moreover, bottom-up planning and budgeting requires strong people’s movements and participation.
P-Noy’s statement on the PDAF seems to focus more on the Napoles P10 billion pork barrel scam by banning the NGOs from receiving public funds. Yet this is just the tip of the iceberg. What has scandalized the people to outrage are the extent and thoroughness of budget scams that have defrauded them of vital social services and protection, and the involvement of the executive and legislative officials, the bureaucracy, NGOs and even religious leaders. Implicated too is the judiciary by turning a blind eye to the scams. More than ever, the need to pass the Freedom of Information bill becomes more urgent, and tests the administration’s and legislators’ sincerity in addressing the web of corruption that has engulfed the entire political system.
Transparent and Thorough Investigation
All transactions related to the misuse and abuse of all discretionary funds, not just PDAF, must be investigated by the newly formed Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council (IAAGCC). This includes appropriations and disbursements done under the administration of PNoy.
IAGCC’s investigation must not result only in punishing the guilty and in recovering stolen assets. The council’s work must also aid in strengthening laws and processes on the utilization of public funds and point out the accountability—the sins of commission and omission—of concerned public officials in the performance of their duties. The list of robbers in government includes all those who feign public interest for personal gain and disregard the people’s will. PNoy joined this list when he attempted to cheat the people out of their victory over corruption.
Let the Million People March to Luneta and Mendiola on Monday, 26 August 2013, be a reminder to the president and all public officials that this government exists to serve the interest of the people and not the other way around.
Fund Social Protection Against Poverty and Inequality!
Life of Dignity for All!
KAMP is a broad, multi-sectoral and inclusive network that is focused on pushing for universal and transformative social protection towards attaining social justice. It pushes for a five-point agenda: employment guarantee, universal health care services, adequate food, humane housing, and social insurance particularly universal pension for the elderly and differently-abled, and agricultural insurance.
In solidarity with the people’s outrage against PDAF And all forms of corruption and corruptive practices August 26, 2013
A government’s ability to respect, protect and fulfil human rights – social, cultural, political, economic and civil –
will ultimately be defined by the levels and systemic nature of corruption in those States.
–United Nations Convention Against Corruption
Fighting corruption is central to the struggle for human rights.
Government’s capability to implement the human rights obligations to its constituency, without transparency and accountability, is eroded if not restricted or blocked by the degree of corruption which its governors are unable or unwilling to stop. Corruption must be linked to human rights.
Unchecked corruption violates human rights. The perpetuation of corruption diminishes the possibilities of a quality of life worthy of human dignity for thousands if not millions of Filipinos.
The Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates thus unites
with the people’s outrage against the command conspiracy of state and non-state actors to plunder of Napoles-ian scale and style the people’s money ear-marked in the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) for the welfare and upliftment of people, particularly of people living in poverty and of the vulnerable sectors;
with the call to abolish, not just rehash, the PDAF;
to investigate and bring the perpetrators to justice; with the truth that the PDAF is just less than 1.5 percent of the total government budget that has been exposed; that we have not looked closely at the 98.5 percent as, for instance, the fertilizer scam happened with the agency budget and not PDAF; that the COA special audit covered only expenditures made prior to 2010;
with the urgency now more than ever to push the people’s initiative for the Freedom of Information Bill for we cannot delude ourselves that a change of administration takes away the venues and schemes of corruption and corruptive practices;
with all those who will form people’s monitoring mechanisms not only to monitor in the dispensing of people’s money but in ensuring that such expenditures respect, protect and fulfill their human rights.
PAHRA is confident that, in Ka Pepe Diokno’s words:
Against a united people, no force is strong enough to prevail.
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Pnoy’s announcement on PDAF falls short of justice for our people!
August 23, 2013
President Aquino’s announcement today abolishing the Philippine Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) falls short of the demands for justice emanating from the massive public outcry against the pork barrel.
P-Noy’s policy declaration is double-edge. While he abolishes the PDAF,he only decries the abuses in the pork barrel institution which includes less visible forms of pork. More importantly, he still accommodates every congressman and senator to propose and therefore, horse-trade, on specific projects for specific districts or sectoral constituencies. The door thus remains open to pork.
P-Noy also limits his line of attack to the results of the Special PDAF Audit for years 2007-2009 and what has come out from the Napoles scam. PDAF has existed since 1990. It continues into the first half of his term. Justice for our people demands that no one be spared. The investigation must encompass not only the term of his predecessors but his own as well. Let the chips fall where they should, whether they be rivals or allies of the President.
The stolen public money so far unearthed is of unbelievable magnitude. The impunity with which they have been dispensed and misused strongly suggest a very corrupt system of pork allocation which extends to the entire budget process itself, and an extensive involvement at the top levels of officialdom down to the local governments. Thus, the investigation must be carried out independently, objectively and fairly.
At this point, many members of Congress are already implicated in these monumental pork barrel scams. Possibly, there may be more. Congressional inverstigations therefore lack the necessary credibility to do the job. While the Commission on Audit and the Office of the Ombudsman are expected to conduct an independent, objective and fair investigation, there is value in setting up an independent citizen committee to parallel the effort.
The reckoning has to be thorough. Freedom from Debt Coalition ( FDC ) reiterates its earlier statement: The hundreds of billions of pesos that have gone into the Congressional pork barrel should put to shame a Government that has fallen so short of the necessary educational, health and housing services to our people and has been a failure in solving the scandalous poverty in our country.
Once these stolen money are accounted for, they should be added to the massive social debt the Philippine government has owed our people – the unfulfilled obligations to our people as a result of prioritizing debt payments over education, health, housing and other public services by a debt-dependent government.
While the investigations and the prosecutions are being done, radical political reforms to bring transparency and accountability and genuine citizen stakeholdership be brought to the system of governance. The enactment and faithful implementation of a Freedom of Information Law, Anti-Dynasty Law and measures to realize citizen participatory budgeting from the local up to the national levels have become more pressing than ever.
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Labor NGO, Center for Trade Union and Human Rights, joins the heightening calls to abolish the pork barrel or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) saying it is the “only solution” to the systemic corruption in government as exposed in the recent 10-billion-peso scam involving 28 legislators and the JLN group of companies headed by Janet Napoles.
“Abolishing pork, not renaming it nor subjecting it to so-called ‘transparent procedures’ like line-item budgeting, is the only solution to systemic corruption that plagues Congress and even the Executive. Law-makers must concentrate on making laws and the billions allocated to PDAF must be channeled to social services,” Daisy Arago, CTUHR executive director said.
The group also criticized President Aquino’s August 23-statement as “misleading” and “meant to pacify growing public dissent against institutionalized and legalized corruption.”
“While the President said it was time to abolish pork, he did not mean anything close to its abolition. The only thing new in his pronouncement was that NGOs and GOCCs will be prohibited from accessing the money but the budget for PDAF is still there, meaning pork barrel remains,” Arago averred.
The group explained that the 10-billion-peso scam of pork barrel funds reportedly channeled to bogus NGOs and to personal pockets of politicians is more than enough reason to put an end to a system that perpetuate corruption.
Arago described the recent pork barrel scam as “grossly insensitive and the height of greed among politicians who squander public money at the expense of the poor” especially since the reported beneficiaries of theses fake NGOs are poor farmers.
“Aside from better services to more Filipinos when PDAF is re-allocated to social services, eliminating pork barrel is also a step towards ending patronage and clientele politics,” Arago added.
“But despite growing public clamor and strong reason against pork barrel, the President is obstinately keeping the PDAF albeit with new ‘guidelines’. We wonder why this is so. Is it because the Office of the President itself stands to lose billions worth of discretionary fund when pork barrel is eliminated?” Arago asked.
The group vowed that they will be marching with millions of Filipinos to Luneta and Mendiola tomorrow, August 26, in a nationwide protest against pork barrel.
“We urge the President to heed the demands of his boss, the Filipino people, and be true to his campaign to end corruption. Abolish pork barrel, no less. And hold everyone involved in this billion-peso scam accountable to the law and the people.” Arago said.
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The reports of the Commission on Audit raised the question on the disbursement of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), as it clearly show that the Filipino taxpayer’s money, P10 billion pesos of hard-earned money from the labor force and the businesses in the Philippines is plundered by greedy politicians and fake NGO’s.
PDAF is an open source for the opportunist to amass wealth from the nation’s treasury. Clearly, it is not just the Philippine Government which loses here, but the Filipino people – the taxpayers who deserve the services of the government from what they share in the national treasury. The posh lifestyle of the Napoles family, their properties, their bank assets have been exposed to be linked to PDAF in those years.
In the thread of events, they are accomplices to the crime of corruption against the Filipino people. They are not the culprits, there are many of them, sitting in power and now washing off their hands and finding the best means to save their face. That could also be one reason, why it appears to be difficult to find the Napoleses.
As accomplices, they are also witnesses who can point the finger to the politicians who shared with them the plunder from the Filipino people. Who are those senators and congressmen and executive officials who dealt with the Napoles’ enterprise. By law, non-government organizations are not allowed to be such enterprising. They are registered as non-stock and non-profit.
The COA report is indeed a tangible evidence of how PDAF is an open source for greed and corruption. Never in the history of contemporary Philippine government, that such massive form of corruption is exposed. Never in the history of the Filipino people that various sectors are stronger in number to voice their opinion against such corrupt practice.
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A statement against the pork barrel scam
by Bishop Gerardo Alminaza, D.D. Auxiliary Bishop of Jaro and Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG) Head Convenor
August 21, 2013
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” – Luke 16:10
We, bishops and priests of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group, ask President Benigno Aquino III (PNOY), the Senators and Lower House Representatives to show to the Filipino people that they honor the martyrdom of Ninoy Aquino by taking steps in truly ending the culture of corruption and impunity in our country.
We join Luis Cardinal Tagle’s call for a thorough investigation, and appropriate punishment for the culprits of the Pork Barrel Scam. PNOY must go after the guilty lawmakers and other perpetrators, be they his allies or foes. Furthermore, we suggest the following: Take the budget for the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) amounting to P25.240 billion away from the hands of the Senators and Lower House Representatives. We also call on PNOY to give up his office’s corresponding “pork barrel” which the Commission on Audit identified as the Special Purpose Funds (P310.1 billion for 2014) and the Unprogrammed Funds (P139.9 billion for 2014), totaling P499 billion!
These funds must be entrusted to and managed by the sovereign people who are the REAL BOSS of our ELECTED SERVANTS. It is unfortunate that our elected servants can no longer be trusted with our people’s money; which we own. The pork barrel system is one of the ROOT CANCERS that breeds the other lethal diseases of corruption. It is not enough for the “Daang Matuwid” to run after corrupt people AFTER THE DASTARDLY DEED HAS BEEN DONE. IT is better to nip in the bud the ROOT of corruption. An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure.
Moreover, everybody knows that whatever guidelines Congress and the Executive might craft regarding the pork barrel WILL NOT WORK; the system itself, which was copied from the U.S.A., has been scrapped by their federal government.
During the World Youth Day in July 2013, Pope Francis urged the Faithful to change a world where food is discarded while millions go hungry, where politics is more associated with corruption than service.
We therefore call on all concerned sectors of the Philippine society to study and propose appropriate mechanisms to RE-CLAIM OWNERSHIP of, and MANAGE the “pork barrel” funds. The people’s money should be spent for the benefit of the majority; especially for lifting the poor out of poverty, as enjoined by our beloved Pope Francis.
Programs for genuine agrarian reform, decent shelter for the informal settlers, free education for our youth, and health services for our people must be prioritized.
As we commemorate the 30th anniversary of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, may PNOY, the lawmakers and all of us prove that indeed, Ninoy was not martyred in vain; and that we are truly committed to a straight path by giving to the people, especially the poor, what is due to them.
As Christ lives,
BISHOP GERARDO ALMINAZA, D.D.
Auxiliary Bishop of Jaro/ Head Convenor of the Visayas Clergy Discernment Group (VCDG)
Tel. No. (033) 329-1625
VISAYAS CLERGY DISCERNMENT GROUP
E-Mail Address: visayasclergydiscernment@yahoo.com
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Ibasura ang Pork Barrel! Pondo ng Bayan, Direktang Ilaan sa Serbisyo at Kabuhayan
Kahindik-hindik para sa Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP) ang patuloy na pagkiling at pagtatanggol ng Pangulong Noynoy Aquino sa taunang alokasyon ng 25 bilyong pisong pondo ng bayan para sa Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) o mas kilala sa tawag na “pork barrel” sa kabila ng umaalingasaw na anomalyang kinasasangkutan dito ng maraming mga mambabatas, kasama na ang mga kaalyado ng kasalukuyang administrasyon.
Malaking insulto sa mamamayan na hindi malaman ni PNoy kung paano at saan ilalaan ang pondo sakaling tanggalin ito sa kamay ng mga nagpapasasang konggresista’t senador. Nakapagtatakang may nakikita pa siyang kabutihang naidulot ng PDAF samantalang malinaw na hanggang ngayon ay nananatiling tatlo sa bawat sampung Pilipino o 27.9 porsyento ng kabuoang populasyon ng kanyang mga “boss” ay naghihikahos at nadagdagan ng 600,000 ang dami ng mga nakaranas ng gutom mula Enero hanggang Marso 2013.
Nasaan ang pakinabang at sino ang nakikinabang sa buwis ng sambayanan? Kapos na kapos ang serbisyong nararapat para sa mamamayan. Sa halip na gamitin ang pondo para sa pangkalahatang proteksyong panlipunang magtitiyak ng wastong pamamahagi ng kita at kayamanan ng bansa tungo sa makataong pamumuhay para sa lahat, pilit na pinanatili ni PNoy ang kalakarang nakasalalay sa personal na pagpapasya ng iilan kung paano gagastahin ang kaban ng bayan.
Wala raw pondo para sa pangunahing karapatang pantao
Noong Marso 2013, ibinasura ni PNoy ang mungkahing batas, Magna Carta of the Poor, na magtataguyod ng limang pangunahing karapatang-pantao: wasto at sapat na pagkain, disente at abot-kayang pabahay, trabaho at kabuhayan, de-kalidad na edukasyon at serbisyong pangkalusugan. Ang dahilan: walang pondo at hindi nailagay sa dokumento ang katagang “progressive realization” o papa-unlad na pagsasakatuparan ng mga karapatang ito.
Ang taunang 25 bilyong pisong alokasyon sa PDAF ay katumbas ng pabahay para sa 62,500 pamilyang informal settler (P400,000 bawat isa). Halos 30 porsyento ng 92 milyong Pilipino ay informal settler. Tatlong taon nang naghihintay ang 104,000 pamilyang mahihirap na nakatira sa mga peligrosong lugar sa Metro Manila para sa katuparan ng P50 bilyong pabahay. Pautang pa ito ni PNoy samantalang ang PDAF ay libreng ipinamimigay!
Sa 25 bilyong piso, halos 14 milyong Pilipino na ang libreng maisasali sa programa ng PhilHealth gaano man kakapos ang serbisyong ibinibigay nito. Kahit paano’y maiibsan sana ang mahigit 50 porsyentong gastusin sa serbisyong pangkalusugan na direktang nanggagaling sa bulsa ng mamamamayan (Philippine National Health Accounts 2011).
Marami pang katumbas ang perang ito. Labas pa ito sa pondong nakalaan para sa mga programang nakatakda na sa ilalim ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan at sa mismong pork barrel ng presidente.
Buwis, i-direkta sa Serbisyo, hindi sa bulsa ng sira-ulo
Tama si PNoy nang sabihin niya sa panayam ng mamamahayag na si Maki Pulido na kung sira-ulo ang magmamaneho ng kotse, pwedeng managasa. Pero alam na nga niyang sira-ulo, bakit bibigyan pa ng kotse? Unang-una, bakit ka mamimigay ng kotse na hindi naman sa iyo?
Malinaw na hindi buung-buong napapakinabangan ng mamamayang Pilipino ang PDAF. Panahon pa ng namayapang konggresistang si Romeo Candazo, ibinulaga na niya ang karumal-dumal na kalakaran sa paggasta sa pera ng mamamayan. May “kick-back” ang mga konggresista na umaabot sa mahigit kalahati ng presyo ng bawat proyektong pinopondohan ng pork barrel.
Tama at napapanahon na alisin na ang pork barrel. Tama at makatwiran na imbestigahan si Janet Lim-Napoles upang mapalutang ang mga senador at konggresistang kasabwat nito sa karumaldumal na krimen sa taumbayan. Ngunit, mas makakamit ang tunay na hustisya kung ang PDAF ay direktang pakikinabangan ng mga mamamayan.
Nararapat na ito ay ilaan sa proteksyon ng mamamayan laban sa lumalalang kahirapan at inekwalidad. Pondohan ang pagpapalawig sa serbisyong pangkalusugan, makataong programang pabahay lalo na sa mga maralita, paglikha ng trabaho, insurance para sa mga nawalan at hindi makakuha ng hanapbuhay, nakabubuhay na pension at suporta para sa mga matatanda at specially o differently abled, tiyak at de-kalidad na edukasyon para sa mga kabataan.
Alokasyon at Paggasta ng PDAF, walang Partisipasyon ang Mamamayan. Desisyon ng presidente ang alokasyon ng PDAF. Personal na diskresyon naman ng konggresista o senador kung paano gagastahin ang pondo.
Sa kalakhan, walang mahigpit na koordinasyon ang administrasyong Aquino sa mga civil society organizations kaya nakalusot ang mga pekeng NGO na naging kasabwat pa ng ilang mambabatas sa korupsyon sa pork barrel. Tama lang na maging mahigpit ang mga patakaran para sa mga grupong tumatanggap ng anumang tulong na gagamit ng mga pag-aari ng publiko.
Pagdating sa mga konsultasyon, kalimitang isinasali ng administrasyong PNoy ay mga kaalyadong organisasyon. Kung mapasama man ang mas malawak na pormasyon, puro mabilisang pagpupulong lang at madalas ay isinasantabi ang mga mungkahi ng mga ito sa kadahilanang walang “accreditation”. Suwertehin man na maimbita sa mga limitadong konsultasyon, wala pa ring saysay ang partisipasyon kung walang pagkilala ng mga ahensya ng pamahalaan.
Maraming paraan, hindi lang sa pamamagitan ng pork barrel, upang tiyaking ang buwis ng taumbayan ay direktang magsisilbi sa interes ng sambayanan. Ang mahalaga, paigtingin ng gobyerno ang mga mekanismo para sa malawak at makabuluhang partisipasyon ng mga mamamayan mula sa pagbubuo ng plano hanggang sa implementasyon at pagsubaybay dito. Ang kagyat na pagsasabatas ng Freedom of Information Bill ay isang kritikal na hakbang upang matiyak na sinusunod ng gobyerno ang mga prinsipyo ng accountability, transparency at partisipasyon ng publiko sa mga desisyon at gawain ng pamahalaan.
Honor ng mga Aquino: puro pagbabayad ng ilehitimong utang?
“Honor all debts” ang isang pamosong slogan ng ina ni PNoy, ang namayapang Presidente Cory Aquino. Dahil dito naisakripisyo ang serbisyong panlipunan para relihiyosong bayaran ang mga utang ng Pilipinas na karamihan ay hindi pinakinabangan. Nangutang pa ang gobyerno para bayaran ang mga ilehitimong utang na pinagpasasaan lang ng pamilyang Marcos at mga crony nito.
Ngayon, “honor all political debts” yata ang nasa likod ng katigasan ng sampalataya ni PNoy sa PDAF—isang paraan upang patuloy siyang suportahan ng mga pinagkaka-utangan niya ng kanyang tagumpay sa eleksyon at mapasunod o makontrol ang mga mambabatas. At kung ang batas na kaniyang sinusunod ay tulad ng Automatic Appropriations Law on Debt Servicing na awtomatikong nagtatakda ng budget sa pambayad-utang nang walang konsultasyon sa mamamayang pumapasan nito, delikado ang sambayanan.
Sa ganitong klaseng kalakaran, walang ibang natitirang sasandalan ang taumbayan kundi ang sarili niyang lakas at kapangyarihang singilin at sipain ang mga tila nagpapanggap na lingkod-bayan.
Sa ika-26 ng Agosto, aangkinin ng mamamayang Pilipino ang lakas at kapangyarihang ito: Isang milyong martsa sa Luneta at Mendiola. ###
Ibasura ang Pork Barrel!
Makataong Pamumuhay Para sa Lahat!
Kampanya para sa Makataong Pamumuhay (KAMP)
Ika-21 ng Agosto 2013
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Pinepetisyon si Honorable Conchita Carpio Morales The Office of the Ombudsman: Conduct an impartial investigation of the grave misuse of the PDAF
Petisyon ng
Former Senior Government Officials (Philippines)
On 24 March 2005, a hired assassin gunned down journalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat while she was having dinner with her family at home in Tacurong City. In 2003, Esperat, who was the Department of Agriculture (DA) Resident Ombudsman for Central Mindanao, had filed charges against DA officials on a P432 M fertilizer scam.
The ensuing investigation revealed a possible connection with the even bigger P728 M fertilizer fund scam, which implicated Janet Lim-Napoles, then a big supplier of liquid fertilizer.
Napoles is now reportedly at the center of the biggest scam so far that has been uncovered by investigative reporters – that of the P10 B scam that involved the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), better known as the pork barrel, of a number of former and current Senators and Representatives.
Whatever problems it was meant to address, the PDAF has proven itself a cure more destructive than the disease. No benefit can possibly justify the crimes it has spawned and the systematic corruption of public institutions and officials it has promoted.
Alleged operators like Napoles may have devised the blueprint for raiding the PDAF, but the greater accountability rests with the Senators and Representatives to whom the funds were entrusted. It was their responsibility to ensure that their PDAF went only to reputable NGOs proposing priority projects and that these projects produced the promised benefits.
The Senators and Representatives who channeled funds to fake NGOs were not political neophytes. They, and we, were not born yesterday. Patronage of fake NGOs, particularly when repeated, provides grounds for charging culpable negligence, if not complicity in corruption.
We ask the Ombudsman to investigate the grave misuse of the PDAF.
We ask the Senators and Representatives implicated in the scam to clear their names by voluntarily subjecting themselves to an impartial official investigation by the Ombudsman to determine the extent of their actual involvement in the P10 B scam.
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