Senate bets divided on ‘pork’ abolition

MANILA, Philippines - Nine senatorial candidates who attended the second ABS-CBN Harapan: 2013 forum at La Consolacion College in Manila last Sunday were divided on whether the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel should be abolished.

Seven of them rejected proposals to re-impose the death penalty.

Samson Alcantara, Juan Edgardo Angara, Grego Belgica, Baldomero Falcone, Richard Gordon, Ricardo Penson, Grace Poe, Christian Seeres and Eddie Villanueva weighed in on the pork barrel, with five in favor of its retention.

Only Señeres, Falcone, Belgica and Penson were for its abolition.

Villanueva batted for line-budgeting and transparency among agencies.

Alcantara said the duty of lawmakers is to legislate, not to decide on how funds should be allocated.

Poe is for removal of the discretionary part of the pork barrel. It must be allocated for the poor, education and health, she added.

Gordon said pork barrel is the source of funds of lawmakers for additional budget for health care and infrastructure projects that are not in the national budget. He batted for better transparency in pork barrel use.

Angara said he sees nothing wrong if pork barrel is removed as long as the national government can address the concerns of scholars and those seeking medical assistance.

Not the solution

Alcantara, Angara, Falcone, Gordon, Penson, Poe and Señeres are against the re-imposition of the death penalty.

Alcantara said the death penalty is not the solution to solve or prevent crimes. Angara batted for improved crime prevention policies.

Falcone sees hope for every person to change for the better.

Gordon put the blame on the failure of law enforcement agencies to maintain peace and order. Law enforcement agencies must intensify anti-crime efforts, he added.

Penson said no man has the right to take another’s life.

Poe said rehabilitation and creation of more jobs will help reduce the commission of crimes.

Señeres believes it is better to set 1,000 men free than let one innocent man go to jail.

Belgica wants justice for those who are not doing any wrong.

Villanueva believes the death penalty must be re-imposed to give justice to victims of crimes.

Firefighting

Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers Association Rep. Arnel Ty urged lawmakers yesterday to use their pork barrel funds to help local governments acquire firefighting capability. “We are appealing to our colleagues to use some of their PDAF allocations to support the construction of fire stations and the acquisition of fire trucks, for the benefit of municipalities that still do not have any firefighting capability,” he said.

Ty, a Filipino-Chinese fire volunteer, said portions of the PDAF for “public infrastructure” may be spent to build fire stations in municipalities.

“Senators in particular are in an exceptional position to help in a big way,” he said. “They have larger allocations, and because they have no specific constituencies, they can put up fire stations in any municipality.”

PDAF allocations may be used to purchase fire trucks and other firefighting gear for use by the new fire stations, he added. Ty said four out of every 10 municipalities nationwide do not have a single fire station.

The Local Government Code of 1990 mandated the establishment of “at least one fire station with adequate personnel, firefighting capabilities and equipment” in every municipality, he added. Ty said more than two decades after the passage of the law, 613 out of 1,502 municipalities are still in desperate need of a fire station.

“Without any firefighting capability, human lives as well as properties in these 613 municipalities are in grave danger ofbeing lost and instantly destroyed in an inferno,” he said. – With Jess Diaz