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Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Hold Release of Pork or No Pork altogether?


Source: www.rappler.com

There will be no release of pork barrel to lawmakers until the probe on the multi-million pork barrel scam is over.

This is what President Benigno Aquino III said in an interview with GMA's Maki Pulido on Monday, August 19, as the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) continues to investigate a scheme that allegedly involved senators and congressional representatives misusing or pocketing their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

"We will finish the investigation first and check if there are loopholes that can still be closed," he said.

He also said the administration has "performance-based indicators" and "budget releases [are] based on their performance" that apply to all department agencies.

"There's a time limit. If you don't use it, it goes to savings. Savings will utilize it," he said.

Aquino also expressed hope those who use their PDAF for good won't be affected because of those who misuse their pork barrel.

On Friday, August 16, the Commission on Audit (COA) released details on how lawmakers have disregarded rules to allocate excessive funds to their projects. It also shows questionable implementation of various projects by non-government organizations (NGOs) chosen by the lawmakers themselves.

The President has repeatedly said he does not think abolishing pork barrel is the solution to PDAF-related corruption. He said he is open to reforming the process, and has expressed support for more severe punishments for those who misuse theirs.

Errors

Aquino also defended "one congressman," who was supposedly allotted P3-billion in pork barrel, according to the COA report.

He did not name the lawmaker but former Compostela Valley congressman and now Vice Governor Manuel "Way Kurat" Zamora was tagged in an alleged anomalous allocation involving the same amount. Zamora has denied the accusation.

Aquino echoed what House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr said, pointing out that Zamora's name was not mentioned in the Special Allotment Release Order (SARO) in question. Aquino said the P3-billion project was addressed to the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and "the wrong name was put in" during "encoding."

He also used the flaw to cite another error he said existed in the COA report: the P40-million allegedly allocated to him while he was a congressman. This is something he does not recall to be accurate, he said.

Immediate action

Aquino gave assurances the administration is acting fast in bringing the guilty lawmakers to justice.

He said at least two cases could be filed soon against "[lawmakers] who have shown a pattern" of being involved in irregularities. But he declined to say whether they are senators or congressmen.

About 180 congressmen and 12 senators were tagged by the COA report as being linked with dubious transactions.

According to Aquino, the administration is also working on dissolving certain organizations at the moment. They were involved in irregularities such as the state-run ZNAC Rubber Estate Corp (ZREC) in Zamboanga, which has been probed for its alleged disbursement of PDAF to a fake NGO. "In 2003 it was recommended for dissolution," said Aquino. "In December 2009, when we were tackling the 2010 budget, I brought it up [and asked] why is their pork still downloaded?"

34 comments:

  1. Paki suspinde na rin ang mga salary ng mga suspected politicians sa pork barrel scam.

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  2. Parusahan ang mga magnanakaw at bawiin ang ari arian,binoto sila upang mglingkod di pra mgpayaman s kaban ng bayan.

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  3. sana talaga may mangyari at maparusahan iyong mga magnanakaw na politician

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  4. tama yan Mr. President. pag-aralan na rin mabuti kung paano dapat gamitin. pwede rin po siguro bawasan wag ganyan kalaki dahil natetempt sila ibulsa.

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  5. pakisuspend na din po ang buwanang kaltas sa ming mga nagtatrabaho ng tama..

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  6. Hay nako kaya tayo inuulan eh pinaparusahan tayo ng Diyos dahil sa mga magnanakaw na officials na yan! Baka naman kaya d mahanap hanap tong Napoles na to ay dahil tinatago ng mga involved. Hay

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  7. grabe sobrang umiinit ulo ko pag ito na topic. those people are purely evil! sana nga maayos pa ang bansa natin.

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  8. We support you Mr. President, thank God ikaw ang nakaupo. God bless you.

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  9. Good start Mr President sana hindi hanggang start lang ha..our hopes are high if you said it..okay let the process begin as soon as possible before they could S*lv*ge napoles or before she can think Su*c**e..may masolusyunan naman sna ang gobyernong pinas!hindi ung nawawala ang issue.wake up Pilipinas.

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  10. the only way to improve the Philippines is to control the population, itigil ang pagdami ng mahihirap , who do not know how to votes therefore votes for the corrupt politician, who brings the country down

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    Replies
    1. sad but true isa yan sa mga dapat gawin

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  11. punta kayo sa august 26 sa million people march sa luneta!

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  12. Go PNoy! Kaya tayo binabagyo every year, kasi kinukuyog tayo ng langit para magbago na for the better Philippines!

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  13. Hold their salaries as well and if ever they're guilty, get their businesses and for the past years and the total amount they get!

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  14. kasi dapat i abolish na ang PDAF! mag submit ng sariling buget plans of yearly expenses and projects and dapat attached yong accomplished na projects last year para makita if ginamit ng tama ang pera. hindi yong may sarili ng bugdet wala pang project na paglalaanan!

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  15. sana di lang i suspend, i abolish na ang pdaf .. kaya grabe political dynasty ngayon dahil sa sobra sobrang pork barrel.

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  16. HOLD OUR PAYMENT OF TAXES, TOO!!!

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  17. No to pork barrel, ever!

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  18. ako nalang hahawak ng pork barrell na yan. .ako ang treasurer ng klase namin. Kung paluwagan hindi nagkukulang. Yan pang pork barrell lang..

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  19. Bat sa mga marcos ang bilis nila mag freeze ng lahat ng assets bat sa mga magnan*kaw na toh hindi?!

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  20. Dapat ibahin ang system ng pork barrel...kahit anong takip sa loopholes eh tempting pa din yan ganyan kalaki na amount

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  21. pag-aralan at busisin ito Mr. Pinoy. grabe epekto nito s mga maralita ni wala atang nakadanas baha sa mga pulitiko puro mga mahihirap..

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  22. Sequester all their property legal or illegal.

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  23. a very good decision........

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  24. calling all Pinoys to join "Million March on Aug26,2013" against the abuses ofpork barrel of our Legislators & Fake NGO's.. let our voices be heard that enough is enough!!

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  25. wag lang sana to pampalamig ng issue. baka pag nakalimutan nnmn ng mga pinoy, ibabalik nnmn yang pork barrel na yan. dapat abolish tlga and hindi na ibabalik pa!

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  26. No pork pa rin! Pnoy, maawa ka na sa mga pilipino. Wala nang inatupag mga politico kungdi ibulsa ang kabang bayan para sa kanilang sariling kapakanan. Mga starlet ang inaatupag o di kaya laman ng casino ang bisyo!

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  27. tama alisin ang pdaf at babaan tax namn khit gawen.nu n 15% or babaan un vat kakainis govt inimbento ang pork para magnakaw at un FOi bill pakipasa na. wag nun intayin magka people power ulet

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  28. you will be remembered as a strong willed president with the most selfless desire for the betterment of our country if you are able to scrap " pork" from our political scenery which has been the root of corruption for ages...we salute you mr. president

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  29. don't you know that the biggest allocation of pork barrel is the president...

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    Replies
    1. sa mga nagdaan na mga president un ngayon hindi makuha ni noypi kc gusto nga nya bguhin ang system

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  30. Nakakabilib lang si PNOY. Sana ang ibang pulitiko ganun din. Can't wait for a better Philippines. Sana lang after ng term niya, eh macontinue ang legacy niya.

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    Replies
    1. kris is this you?

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    2. agree ako mostly sa mga decisions nya chaka ang gusto ko yung hindi sya agad nagbibitiw ng salita pinag iisipan muna yung sasabihin.

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