Category: Pork Barrel

NBI files plunder raps vs Enrile, Revilla, Estrada, Napoles

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By VERA Files

THE National Bureau of Investigation filed on Monday afternoon plunder and malversation of public funds charges against Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Juan Ponce Enrile, and businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles before the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the misuse of the Priority Development Assistance Fund, more commonly known as “pork barrel.”

Similar charges were filed against former Masbate Rep. and now Gov. Rizalina Lanete and former APEC party-list Rep. Edgar Valdez.

No fireworks seen with filing of raps vs. lawmakers

By DANA BATNAG, VERA Files

IT WILL be a much-anticipated media event, but the filing of complaints against senators and congressmen allegedly involved in the pork barrel scam is unlikely to result in fireworks or other earthshaking political upheavals.

That’s because filing a complaint with the Ombudsman is just the start of a long process—one that may take years—to make public officials accountable for their misdeeds

Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the commentary.

The five public officials were found to have each accumulated more than P50 million, the threshold amount for plunder, through misappropriation, misuse and conversion of their PDAF allocations and acceptance of kickbacks from transactions made with Napoles and her NGOs for the PDAF-supported projects, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima told a press briefing.

Charged with similar or lesser offenses–malversation, direct bribery and/or other graft and corrupt practices–were 32 other people identified by whistleblowers, all former staff of Napoles who have personal knowledge and documents of the abuse of the PDAF.

Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.

Kitakits sa Luneta

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Aug 26 Million People MarchSee you all at Luneta tomorrow.

Wear comfortable shoes and clothes. Some are enjoining everybody to wear white to symbolize cleansing of the corrupt system. But actually any color will do.

Bring umbrella just in case it rains. It is a long struggle to assert our right to good governance and we need to be fit and healthy. We can’t afford to get sick.

Bring water. It’s important to hydrate yourself when you are out there in the sun.

Bring something to sit on on the ground like newspaper or cloth.

Understand the issues you are fighting for, why you are there.

Keep strong your conviction for what is right and moral but at the same time, respect the right of others to their own beliefs. That’s the essence of democracy that we want to keep alive.
***
“Bugo-Bugo” is slang for alumni of the Philippine Military Academy.

There’s a Bugo-Bugo Manifesto circulating in social expressing their disgust on scandal on the use of the pork barrel unraveling in media.

The manifesto comes with a clarification that signatories “are no longer active in military and police service and are practicing or retired professionals in various fields.”

They stressed that they don’t want to be called alumni of PMA because they are not representing the PMA Alumni Association, Inc. Also, because not all of signatories and supporters of the manifesto are graduates of PMA.

The statement:

“We, concerned sons and daughters of the Philippine Military Academy, join the Filipino people in condemning in the strongest terms possible the systematic plunder of public funds via the pork barrel by some members of Congress and their accomplices.

“We are aghast, disgusted and enraged at such a wanton display of shamelessness by those who we elected to serve and protect the people. Rather than fulfill their sworn oaths, they unabashedly used their position to steal, deceive and enrich themselves at the expense of their fellowmen most of whom continue to suffer in utter poverty.

“We cannot and we will not tolerate this anymore even those from among our own.

“We demand that justice be served as true justice must.

“We demand that all the stolen funds be returned to the national coffers and that the guilty be meted their due punishment at the soonest possible time.

“We demand an immediate end to the immoral pork barrel system which has proven to be the root cause of corruption and will continually besmirch and compromise the commitment and dedication of the other honorable members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. Pork has lost its rationale. Those funds could have been used for better purposes and with clear accountability and control under the Executive branch.

“We trust that this government through the President who advocated good governance and the fight against corruption through the ‘Daang Matuwid’ will fulfill what they had promised.

“We believe PNoy when he said then, ‘Kung walang kurap, walang mahirap’ and in the saying that evil triumphs when good men do nothing. Thus, we band together with other Filipinos who are similarly infuriated in expressing freely our thoughts and call to end this grave injustice. Inaction or complacency is no longer an option.

“And finally, we pledge on our honor, in the memory of our fallen Cavaliers who gave their all and in the revered name of PMA that we will be vigilant on issues of corruption so as to give to the Filipino people, from whom we owe so much the privilege to have served this country and of what we have become, what they truly deserve.

“To these, with the help of GOD and with COURAGE, INTEGRITY and LOYALTY.”

One of the signatories is the Editor-in-Chief of SecurityMatters who is a member of the Makatao Class of 1989. Ace Esmeralda, a former army officer who spent all his service years in Mindanao, emphasized that he is not representing his class or any of his classmates who are still in active service. He hinted that the other signatories share the same sentiments that are founded in the Academy’s motto of Courage, Integrity, and Loyalty

Other signatories include Ricardo Morales, Luciano Gaboy, Gerardo Tenazas,Benjamin Samonte,Jose F. Gamos, Gene Enriquez, Edmund Mendoza, Gerardo Capala, Elias S. Golez, Victo B. Abat.

Aquino’s doublespeak on PDAF and ‘pork’

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By Yvonne T. Chua, VERA Files

Aquino 'abolishes' PDAFPresident Benigno S. Aquino III announced Friday his administration is set to “abolish” the infamous Priority Development Assistance Fund, or PDAF. But “pork barrel,” in reality, is staying.

In Aquino’s own words, legislators will retain the discretion to “identify and suggest projects” for their districts under a new mechanism the budget department and Congress will hammer out.

The epitome of transactional politics, pork barrel, or simply pork, refers to appropriations and favors obtained by a representative for his or her district. The funds are discretionary in nature.

The new setup Aquino is envisioning will, in effect, not abolish pork but simply centralize the district funds—PDAF will likely just be given another name—under the executive department.

But, as important, what should be made clear is, PDAF is but one, albeit the most conspicuous, form of pork barrel.

Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story

Pork by any name

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By YvonneT.Chua and Booma B. Cruz,VERAFiles

(Note: The excerpt on the history of pork barrel in the Philippines was written by VERA Files trustees Yvonne T. Chua and Booma Cruz in 2004 for the book, The Rulemakers: How the Wealthy and Well-Born Dominate Congress.)

Aug 26 Million People MarchWhether they come in large or small amounts, pork barrel allocations have generated a lot of controversy since they were first introduced in the Philippines in 1922. In 1925, Senate Minority Leader Juan Sumulong stunned colleagues when, standing on a question of privilege, he charged that the ruling party had “misused public funds in the form of pork barrel appropriations.”…

…Pork barrel, or simply pork, refers to appropriations and favors obtained by a representative for his or her district. G. Luis Igaya of the Institute for Popular Democracy defines pork barrel legislation as “any attempt by Congress to divert national funds directly into their districts whether it be in the form of public works (such as highways or bridges), social services (such as education funds or public school buildings), or special projects (such as livelihood programs or community development projects).”…

…Four years after the fall of Ferdinand Marcos and the return of democracy, President Corazon Aquino restored the pork barrel of members of Congress. But it was rechristened “Countrywide Development Fund” or CDF. Pork was to go by that name for the next eight years….

…When he campaigned for the presidency, Joseph Estrada vowed to abolish pork barrel, which by then had been swirling in controversy after controversy. But once he got into office, the former action-film star did not entirely scrap the legislators’ discretionary funds. He simply changed the system, taking pains to remove only the CDF-type of pork barrel and retaining the rest, such as the School building Fund and the CIAs. He even added his own type of pork barrel, the Lingap para sa Mahirap Program.

Today, the PDAF is still very much around. So are other special-purpose funds, especially the Public Works Fund and the School Building Fund.

Please click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.

Hold your applause

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PNoy: all pork barrel misuse is during past administration.

PNoy: all pork barrel misuse was during past administration.

I will hold my applause until I see the results of the Aquino administration’s efforts to investigate the pork barrel scam which was triggered by the discovery of a Janet Napoles operations involving initially five opposition senators and has now spilled into the current administration’s territory.

President Aquino and the Senate leadership have shown that they are listening to passions online and on the ground by accommodating the call for a probe into the misuse of the multi-billion Priority Development Assistance Fund, commonly referred to as pork barrel.

After dismissing the Napoles-triggered pork barrel expose estimated to reach as high as P10 billion as not as massive as the P728 million fertilizer scam during the time of Gloria Arroyo, Aquino yesterday said he is open to the suggestion of Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano to tap former Sen. Panfilo Lacson as special independent investigator who will look into the alleged irregularities in the use of pork barrel funds by some senators.

Last Wednesday Cayetano said ““Lacson is the best person to conduct the investigation because of his impeccable record against corruption and his unwavering stand against the pork barrel.” Lacson did not avail of his PDAF allocation during his term as senator.

Cayetano also said that Lacson’s background as a police officer would be an advantage because “he knows how to build up cases, he knows how to case people, he knows how to sense lying during question and answer of witnesses, so these are some qualities we need that will make the investigation more credible.”

Cayetano’s colleagues are divided on Lacson’s involvement in the Senate probe. Lacson’s nemesis, Sen. Miriam Santiago, expectedly opposed it. Even the head of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee Senator Teofisto Guingona III was not amenable to Cayetano’s suggestion.

“We recognize the integrity and professionalism of Senator (Panfilo) Lacson. However, we believe that the Senate Blue Ribbon is capable of determining the truth. I don’t think there’s a need at all,” Guingona said.

Guingona also said that senators mentioned in the COA report will not be grilled by the committee.

Actually, even Lacson, knowing the political and legal realities, is not enthusiastic about it even as he was polite to Cayetano’s suggestion.

The graftbuster

The graftbuster

In a statement, Lacson said: “First, I thank the Senate Majority Leader for putting his trust and confidence in my ability to assist the senate in a very sensitive issue hounding several of its members. Second, a resolution needs to be adopted or concurred in by at least a majority of the senate to formally create the same. Third, and most important is how the proposed body will be defined in regard to its mandate, scope, powers and functions. “

He reminded everybody that in 2003, at the 12th Congress he delivered a privilege speech advocating the abolition of the pork barrel which he described as ‘a very corrupt and corrupting system in our political institutions.”

“ Had the 12th congress reacted positively to my privilege speech 10 years ago, the Senate could have been saved from the wrath and hatred of the citizenry,” Lacson said.

Lacson said he has to consult with the President since he said he “has yet to hear a formal confirmation of an earlier announced creation of an anti-corruption body to be headed by me which will necessarily deal with a similar or related issue at hand. “

Actually, if you examine the President’s statement on the proposed role of Lacson in the pork barrel scam, he is not enthusiastic about it.

He said there is already the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft and Corruption Council . The Ombudsman, the DOJ and COA are currently probing on the misuse of pork barrel.

The probe, however , is limited to the COA report released recently which covered PDAF released from 2007 to 2009. COA’s investigation does not cover PDAF releases under the Aquino administration.

Lacson has submitted a draft Executive Order for an office that would investigate graft cases under the Executive branch of the government. It did not cover graft cases in the two other branches of government – legislative and judiciary- for obvious constitutional limitations.

To create an all-encompassing anti-graft body, it has to be a new law that would require an act of Congress. They would have to make sure that the proposed new anti-graft body does not duplicate the functions of the Ombudsman.

Will members of Congress pass a law creating an independent body that would have powers to investigate them? Do pigs fly?