BAYAN MUNA Representatives Neri Colmenares and Carlos Zarate said that Pres. Benigno Aquino III statement abolishing the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) as misleading.
“Looking at Pres. Aquinos statement, he still stubbornly refuse to abolish pork by merely changing the name PDAF and putting in regulations like congressmen will have to choose from a list of projects to choose from and limiting it to the district of the congressman concerned, practically transforming it into an itemized pork barrel system,” said Rep. Colmenares.
“Pres. Aquino hopes that by changing its name as itemized pork, people will be mislead into thinking that there is no need for the August 26 rally. Firstly, the pork barrel system was called Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) then renamed to PDAF but the corruption and patronage politics it spawns remained, no matter how much it is regulated. Secondly, he failed to mention his larger presidential pork which is at least P312 Billion this year, such as the much abused Malampaya Fund, as if hoping it will not be noticed by the people,” he added.
“Restrictions or regulations will not work to stop the corruption in the pork barrel system even if PDAf is abolished as long as there is presidential pork. Public funds will be dispensed to allies and withheld from political opponents, which is an insidious form of patronage politics. “mabuti kung pera nya yan, pwede nyang ipamigay sa mga alyado nya, pero, pera yan ng taong bayan,” said Rep.Colmenares.
“The people must persist in abolishing the pork barrel system. Tuloy ang August 26 rally as an opening salvo for bigger rallies to come,” the progressive solon said.
Meanwhile according to Rep. Zarate, “a clearly rattled Pres. Aquino is trying to jump the gun on the growing people’s outrage on the scourge that is the pork barrel system. His reluctant decision to supposedly abolish the PDAF was, first and foremost, designed to shield his administration from the people’s anger towards its shameless defense of this corrupt patronage system. Pres. Aquino’s decision was designed to pre-empt the August 26 peoples’ march.
“Yet, P’Noy cannot escape from answering the biggest question now: How about his own portly chunk of pork? Certainly, he cannot have his portly pork and eat it too!” he added.
“Without abolishing the fatter and bigger presidential pork barrel, his decision on the abolition of PDAF only is useless, hollow and empty. In fact he only abolished the name but not the pork barrel system itself,” Zarate said.
“However, the people must continue their vigilance and be watchful as PDAF may metamorphosed into another form, another chunk of pork, since the entire pork barrel system substantially remains, without the presidential pork being smashed at all,” Rep. Zarate said.
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