Local officials in Eastern Visayas received with mixed
reactions President Benigno Aquino III’s decision to abolish the corruption-ridden
Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), or pork barrel.
Biliran
Rep. Rogelio Espina said he respected the President’s decision, but stressed
that the abolition of the pork barrel would impact on the delivery of various
services to the constituents of the members of the House.
Espina, a
former governor of Biliran, said he got funds for various projects and
assistance programs for the poor, such as burial, scholarships, medical and
livelihood, from the PDAF.
“Our poor
barangays, municipalities and provinces cannot provide a quality of life
(services for their residents) on their internal revenue allotment (alone),”
Espina said in a text message.
Servants
“As
representatives, we don’t only legislate laws, but we are also servants of our
constituents who are seeking immediate assistance in education, health and even
embalming,” he said.
But he
said he supported the President’s decision for the sake of unity.
“I hope
he can find a way to equitably provide immediately for the needs of … more
families in the countryside,” Espina said.
Leyte
Gov. Leopoldo Dominico Petilla said the pork barrel was a big help to the local
governments.
He cited
the flood-control project in Palo town, which is funded from the President’s
pork.
The
project, he said, cannot be finished by the municipal government or the
provincial government because it costs more than P300 million.
Minimal
impact
But for
Northern Samar Gov. Jose Ong, the abolition of the pork barrel will not affect
local governments at all.
“I think
the impact on local governments would be only minimal. Instead of asking our
congressmen for financial assistance, we can go directly to the President. So
it’s just a change of person to ask for help,” Ong said.
Ong is a
younger brother of Rep. Emil Ong, who was listed by the Commission on Audit as
having received more than P161.5 million in pork from 2007 to 2009.
The
Catholic Church found President Aquino’s decision to abolish the PDAF a “very
good move.
But the
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said on Saturday that
the administration should also explain how it used the pork barrel.
Msgr.
Joselito Asis, CBCP secretary general, said the public should scrutinize the
Aquino administration’s pork expenditure, and determine if funds went to
nongovernment organizations (NGOs) linked to businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles,
the alleged mastermind behind the P10-billion pork barrel scam.
“If [the
funds] were invested in (bogus NGOs), that means [the funds] were not really
used (for the public good),” Asis said in an interview.
“Those
who received now and before should be made accountable. That’s a good clamor
from the people—be accountable,” Asis said.
He said
Mr. Aquino’s decision was a good move, as it showed the President listened to
the national demand to abolish the pork barrel.
Shameful,
sinful
“Pork
barrel is not only shocking and scandalous, [but also] shameful and sinful,”
Balanga Bishop Ruperto Santos said. “[It is] plain stealing, where the poor and
the needy are further exploited and made to suffer again and again.”
The PDAF
does not help the poor, Santos said. “Instead, it feeds the greed and the
avarice of unscrupulous people.”
Santos
said the Diocese of Balanga, which covers the province of Bataan, supported the
Million People March at the Luneta Park in Manila set for tomorrow.
The Philippine
Council of Evangelical Churches is also glad about Mr. Aquino’s decision to
abolish the pork barrel.
“We
rejoice over this announcement from the President. However, we still do not
know the mechanics on how the fund will actually be disbursed,” said Bishop
Efraim Tendero, the group’s national director.
“The
journey to liberate the funds of the people for the welfare of the people is
just beginning,” Tendero said. With a report from Philip C.
Tubeza
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