FROM THE august halls of the Senate came a good number of the Philippine presidents. But on the way to the presidency, it looks like a good number of the senators of the republic have had to stop at the market and spend oodles of pork on palengkes?
Eleven of 21 senators of the 15th Congress with pork barrel allocations are by all indications not habitues of palengkes. They have, however, literally splurged pork money on public markets from June 2010 to June 2012.
At least 582 public markets were built and 11 others were repaired in 29 provinces using the 11 senators’ pork shares during the period. In all, that’s a sea of 593 pork-funded palengkes nationwide.
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These public markets have been located in Abra, Aklan, Antique, Apayao, Batangas, Benguet, Bohol, Bukidnon, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Capiz, Ifugao, Ilocos Sur, Iloilo, Kalinga, La Union, Mountain Province, North Cotabato, Nueva Ecija, Quirino, Rizal, Sarangani, Siquijor, Sorsogon, South Cotabato, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, and Zamboanga Sibugay.
Of the 11 senators, re-electionist Francis Joseph ‘Chiz’ G. Escudero wins, hands down, as the Senate’s Palengke King by sheer value and number of his pork-oiled public markets.
He gave P289 million of his pork allocation to build public markets in 25 provinces. A third of Escudero’s pork went to Camarines Sur, which got P100-million worth of public markets.
The 10 other senators who also spent slabs of pork on public markets are Ralph G. Recto, Franklin M. Drilon, Alan Peter S. Cayetano, Vicente C. Sotto III, Francis N. Pangilinan, Manuel B. Villar Jr., Ramon ‘Bong’ B. Revilla Jr., Jinggoy E. Estrada, Pilar Juliana ‘Pia’ S. Cayetano, and Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
Like Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano is a re-electionist senator.
According to reports of the Department of Budget and Management that PCIJ reviewed, here’s where the other senators built and repaired public markets and at what cost:
* Recto, P20 million in his bailiwick of Batangas;
* Drilon, P5 million in his bailiwick of Iloilo;
* Alan Peter Cayetano, P4.5 million in Iloilo;
* Sotto, P4.5 million in Ilocos Sur, Aklan, Cebu, and Bohol;
* Pangilinan, P3.5 million in Rizal;
* Villar, P3 million in Iloilo and Nueva Ecija;
* Revilla, P3 million in Bohol and Aklan;
* Estrada, P3 million in Cebu and Iloilo;
* Pia Cayetano, P2 million in Camarines Sur; and
* Marcos, P200,000 in Iloilo.