Unlike PDAF, PNoy's 'pork' stays

Unlike lawmakers, President Benigno Aquino III will be keeping his "pork barrel," or the President's Social Fund (PSF), one of his spokespersons told GMA News Online.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said that unlike the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the discretionary fund given to lawmakers every year, the PSF is not vulnerable to abuse.

"From the time the President assumed office, safeguards have been put in place to make sure that the funds from the PSF go to its intended use," she told GMA News Online.

She said the PSF is spent, among others, on the special financial assistance for military and police combat casualties and victims of calamities and disasters.

"This is obvious in cases where financial assistance is given to the surviving spouse or parents of soldiers killed in action, including the educational assistance to the children or sibling younger than 21. Also true for cases for medical assistance," Valte said.

Aquino, at a briefing in Malacañang earlier in the day, called for the abolition of the PDAF following reports of its alleged misuse by lawmakers.

Congressmen receive P70 million in PDAF annually while senators get P200 million.

Valte, in explaining that the PSF is not the same as the PDAF, said the PSF is not sourced from tax collections so there is no specific amount for it every year. "By law, it is a trust fund that receives a cerrain percentage from the profits of PAGCOR," she said.

The Presidential Management Staff (PMS) manages and administers the PSF and other special funds, she Valte added. — KBK, GMA News