Former gov't execs skeptical, scathing on pork-barrel scrapping

A pork barrel by any other name would stink just as much. It was the shared reaction of two former government executives familiar with the national budget, to Friday's abolition of the Priority Assistance Development Fund by President Benigno Aquino III. Professor Solita Monsod of the University of the Philippines' College of Economics, who was also National Economic Development Authority director general and Socio-economic Planning Secretary from 1986-1969, said that the new system mimics the US version of pork. "Ang mangyayari diyan ay gagayahin natin yung sistema sa United States na may pork barrel [na] naka-line item [sa national budget],” Monsod explained in a “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho” report. “Yung mga malalakas na legislators, maipapasok nila ang kanilang mga gustong proyekto." Former National Treasurer and UP College of Public Administration Professor Emeritus Leonor Briones likened the replacement of the PDAF to merely changing a recipe, but still using the same ingredients. “It is just itemized pork. Halimbawa, dati lechon, gawin mong asado, o gawing mong paksiw, pero prok pa rin,” said Briones. Aquino, in reaction to the public outrage over the pork barrel scam in which lawmakers allegedly received billions of pesos in kickbacks, last Friday abolished the PDAF. It was a reversal of his earlier stand on the pork barrel, which he had seen as useful. In last Friday's surprise news conference, Aquino, flanked in solidarity by Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, announced that the PDAF was to be replaced with a "new mechanism" that would limit the kind of projects lawmakers can suggest for funding. With this new system, congressmen will have to channel their proposed projects for their legislative districts as line items in the national budget. These will be subject to a transparent "budgetary process." Budget Secreatry Florencio Abad explained that, under the new system, lawmakers' project would still receive funding under the new system. “What you abolish is the lack of transparency, the arbitrariness, the vulnerability to corruption,” said Abad. However, Monsod would rather see the pork barrel done away with completely. "The executive and legislative [branches] are in a giant conspiracy to take advantage of the pork barrel for their own personal gain," she said. “That's plunder, legalized.” Given the scathing assessments, members of the Presidential Communications Group appealed to the public to give Aquino's reform a chance. In a series of tweets, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda (@dawende) suggested that Filipino netizens help the government in addressing the issue of corruption. "...Corrupt people are not a monolithic entiry (sic).They may live next door. They may own restaurants where you eat... You [can] let them know thru everyday actions that you don't approve of illegally acquired wealth. Gov't, is addressing the problem. You can also do your share by sending them this message: Living beyond your means by stealing our money is not socially acceptable!" he said. In response to the suggestion of totally eradicating the pork barrel, deputy spokesperson Abigail Valte said that monitoring pork-funded projects will now be easier through the transparent mechanism instituted by the government. "You can follow the implementation of the project soon at the DBM website also. It won't be a lump sum anymore ... You can help the monitoring in your district since specifics of the projects will be posted. No more ghosts. No consumables also," she said. Earlier Saturday, Abad had defended Aquino's decision to abolish PDAF, saying it would boost the public's trust in the President and Congress. — Xianne Arcangel/DVM, GMA News