Pork out the barrel

One of the many ills of this country has been the hundreds of billions of pesos spent by the Senators and Congressmen called pork barrel.

Former Senate President Franklin Drilon recently accused the Lower House of padding the allocation for their pork barrel by P13.5 billion.

He challenged the members of Congress to waive the pork allocation so that government does not need to impose the additional 12 percent value added tax.

Many other complaints have been made against the pork barrel. But nothing was done, can be done, and will be done. It's Congress that prepares the budget. Charity begins at home. Therefore Congressmen must first allocate something for themselves.

The President cannot stop it too. Or she gets impeached. The threat alone makes her stop in her tracks. In his book, “Today's Revolution: Democracy” Marcos wrote that one reason he declared Martial Law was to curb the anomalies of pork barrel.

* * *

Last week, an avid reader of this column who described himself as a true-blooded Bacolodnon, 69 years old, and a retired banker, but he refused to sign his name, deplored the abuse of pork barrel by some Congressmen. He named them.

His letter was post-marked Dumaguete City . If he sees me and identifies himself and signs his name, I will publish his letter. What he asked of the Congressmen he mentioned was that they give an inventory of the P60-million a year pork barrel they received.

My friend, if only you sign your name and the letter is published many will thank you.

* * *

Pork barrel, a very derogatory term, is of American origin. It refers to government spending for the projects of Congressmen but we all know, a big portion of this goes to their private pockets.

They never report what projects they put up and the Commission on Audit is afraid to touch them or Congress will abolish its budget.

The allocation for pork barrel is P60 million a year. So, for a three-year term, he gets P180 million. If he goes through a full three terms of three years each, he gets P540 million or more than half a billion. Plus the other perks, aside from the pork barrel.

Where does this money go? We don't know. Hence, a call for an inventory of what projects these congressmen have.

* * *

What is the origin of pork barrel? An American writer William Safire wrote the term pork barrel is derived from a practice of the pre-American Civil War days where masters would give their slaves salted pork in barrels.

In 1919, a journalist wrote “Often times the eagerness of the slaves would result in a rush upon the pork barrel in which each would strive to grab as much pork as possible for himself… Members of Congress, in their rush to have so much they became like Negro slaves rushing to the pork barrel…”

A local writer wrote that we have a similar picture today of Filipino legislators rushing to the pork barrel like pigs to the feeding trough.

The greed looks like being insatiable that our lawmakers want to increase and increase their pork barrel allocation. They get kickbacks from their chosen contractors and because they pay kickbacks, contractors are forced to use inferior materials in roads and buildings construction to make up for it so that another allocation would be needed again.

* * *

Because pork barrel has been a derogatory term, they gave it a more acceptable name. During the term of President Fidel V. Ramos, it was called Countrywide Development Fund. Now, it's known as Priority Development Assistance Fund. Media still calls it pork barrel.

In 1996, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism reported in an article, “Pork and Other Perks” cited a Commission on Audit report that in some cases prices of materials were asked up to as high as 200 percent of the market prices and the government set prices.

I talked with many Congressmen friends who admitted the evil of pork barrel. But they said it is already an institution. So…? I cannot help recalling one Congressmen friend, “Keep hammering on it.”

* * *

I salute Silay City Mayor Oti Montelibano being the beneficiary of the airport. With Oti's devevelopment program and his skill to implement it, expect many things big. It was providential that during the inauguration and a drizzle, a rainbow hemmed in the picture of the airport as caught by photographer Jay Jalandoni for DAILY STAR. But Mayor Oti, don't get deluded because contrary to belief there is no gold at the end of the rainbow. Work hard.

I like the note my friend Dr. Tony Sarabia sent me on Silay. Mayor Oti and Cong Kako can make the airport a show window of sugarlandia. On landing at the airport all you see are sugarcane fields. No billboards please, Tony said.

Silay must maintain that is the center of culture, social, and food of Negros . The old families of Silay must help.

Bacolod must move fast too. Otherwise it will be overtaken by Silay.*

back to top