P100-M pork request to protect fund from Palace - Trillanes

Senator Antonio Trillanes IV said Wednesday his P100-million pork request for public works and hospital projects was meant to deny President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo a P100-million "blank check." Trillanes said that while he already manifested he will not avail of his pork funds for 2008, he was told he can avail of a P100-million pork fund for this year. "If the said amount would not be programmed, it would be like giving GMA (President Arroyo) a P100-million blank check. Hence, I decided to have my PDAF (priority development assistance funds) programmed to various public hospitals all over the country as well as for the construction of school buildings. This is not a crime!" he said in a statement on his website. Also, he said he had requested Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, chair of the Senate finance committee, to remove his pork allocation from next year's budget. Trillanes reiterated that he will keep his campaign promise to waive his PDAF allocation. Trillanes said that despite the apology he and his fellow Magdalos gave Judge Oscar Pimentel for walking out of the courtroom last November 29, his fight against Mrs Arroyo is still on. "As regards the court apology, it was very clear in the manifestation filed that the apology was addressed to Judge Oscar Pimentel and the court since they were never the object of our protest to begin with," Trillanes said. He added that, "We remain firm in our conviction that what we have is a morally bankrupt administration that the Filipinos never deserved. Moreover, standing up against the most corrupt president in history is not something to be ashamed of and definitely not something to be sorry for. Tuloy ang laban (The fight continues)!" he said. Last Tuesday, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol disclosed that the Palace blocked the release of P100 million in pork funds for Trillanes. Apostol said the Senate requested the budget department to release the amount requested by Trillanes. Of the P100 million, Trillanes sought P60 million from his PDAF and P40 million from his public works fund. Senate President Manuel Villar Jr endorsed the requests, Apostol said. However, Apostol said Malacañang has ordered the budget department to deny release of the amount. "We think this is one of the causes which caused him to stage the rebellion," he added. For his part, Reynaldo Robles, Trillanes' lawyer and chief of staff, denied the Palace insinuation that the pork was meant to fund Trillanes' "destabilization" activities including the November 29 standoff. Radio dzBB reported that while Robles admitted that the senator's office made requests for the release of government money, the funds were never to meant to bankroll a rebellion or power grab. According to Robles, the fund requests involving P100 million were meant solely to help the senator's constituents. Robles said Trillanes has no pork barrel to speak of for 2008 as the latter and Sen. Panfilo Lacson refused to avail of their pork. He noted that when the Senate passed the P1.227-trillion budget on third reading Tuesday, it was without the pork barrel allocations of Lacson and Trillanes. - GMANews.TV