TUCP hits senators and congressmen for foot dragging on giving up pork

By TUCP
September 9, 2013

QUEZON CITY – The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), the largest group of labor federations in the country, lamented the insensitivity of senators and congressmen for their apparent sluggish action in giving up their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

“It looks like inertia is sweeping the entire halls of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There seems to be a consensus of inaction shared by many of our legislators amid the overwhelming clamor to abolish their pork barrel. More than two weeks after the Million People March phenomenon, it seems there are only a handful of souls in both halls who are willing to take the initiative in reforming the budget and closing the door to the possibility of future plunder,” said Gerard Seno, executive vice president of the Associated Labor Unions-Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (ALU-TUCP).

Thus far, only fifteen senators and less than half of the more than 200 congressmen have expressed in public and signed the petition to abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF). TUCP Party-list Rep. Raymond Mendoza was among the first batch of congressmen who signed the petition at the House along with other House leadership under Belmonte.

The TUCP describes the position of Senate President Franklin Drilon as “evasive and ambivalent.” Drilon suggested the abolition of congress the moment PDAF is abolished. Recently he said they will allow the petition at the Supreme Court questioning the legality of the PDAF to eventually determine the Senate position on a very critical issue.

“He is engaged in legal hair-splitting at a crucial moment of history when the very institution of Congress is being placed in doubt by the moral majority of millions of ordinary Filipinos,” said Seno.

On Drilon’s latest position to await the ruling of the Supreme Court on a petition of some groups to rule on the legality of PDAF, Seno said: “Regardless of the ruling of the high court, the Senate must irrevocably accede to the highest wishes and relent to the strong voice of the Filipino people as expressed more than two weeks ago. Senator Drilon and the entire Senate are not exempted,” Seno said.

Seno explained that the Senate, led by Drilon, must express its imprimatur on the abolition of the PDAF during the 2014 budget deliberations of both houses through the amendment of the General Appropriations Act, otherwise PDAF will be retained for lack of time.

House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, on the other hand, have conducted a series of consultations rallying congressmen to abolish PDAF and distribute the P25 billion as lump sum amount to four departments for the implementation of social services and infrastructure projects.

TUCP called on congressmen and senators to stop “foot dragging” and immediately sign off on the commitment to scrap PDAF.

The labor group is supporting the complete and unconditional abolition of the PDAF or the pork barrel system in the light of a strong public disdain against abuse in the use of the fund as expressed on August 26.

The TUCP is supporting Senate Bill 1524 introduced by Sen. Teofisto Guingona Jr., otherwise known as Bottom Up Budgeting Act of 2013. The proposal will allocate the P25 billion intended for PDAF in the 2014 P2.68 trillion budget to the different government agencies as the implementing unit. The bill, among others, ensures the involvement of civil society organizations in pre-identifying programs and projects to be funded and where all expenses are listed down to the last centavo.

Pre-identified projects may also be recommended by congressmen and senators or by the Regional Development Councils (RDCs) in congruence with the regional development plans uniquely developed according to the needs of every region.

TUCP and other labor groups should be part of the RDCs to reflect sentiments of major sectors in society.