Palace withholds 2013 ‘pork’ of Bayan Muna, allies

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang has not released a single centavo of the pork barrel allocations for this year of the militant group Bayan Muna and its four allies.

What the Palace has released, as reflected in the website of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), were the 2012 balances of Bayan Muna and Anakpawis.

Some P85.350 million had been made available to Bayan Muna and P20 million to Anakpawis mostly in March, shortly before the May elections.

Of the amount released to Bayan Muna, P45.350 million was allocated to Teddy Casiño, who lost in his senatorial bid, and P40 million to Neri Colmenares.

Gabriela, ACT Teachers and Kabataan received nothing apparently because they had no balance for the previous year.

The five militant groups, which have a combined seven congressional seats, along with Ang Galing Pinoy, are the only party-list organizations that have not received their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations for this year.

All other groups have received their P35-million half-year allotments.

The PDAF is the official name of the congressional pork barrel. It allocates P200 million a year for each senator and P70 million for each member of the House of Representatives.

Among House members elected from legislative districts, only three have not been getting their PDAF since President Aquino assumed office on June 30, 2010.

They are Diosdado Arroyo of Camarines Sur, younger son of former president and Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, and two Arroyo allies – Mitos Magsaysay of Zambales and Augusto Syjuco Jr. of Iloilo.

Elder Arroyo son Juan Miguel, who represents Ang Galing Pinoy, also has not been getting his allocation.

In the case of the former president, she has been receiving her PDAF since Aquino took over from her.

When she was president, Arroyo starved her political opponents of their pork barrel funds.

The DBM website does not reflect any PDAF release in 2009 and 2010 for then senators Benigno Aquino III and Manuel Roxas II, who ran for president and vice president, respectively, in the May 2010 elections. Roxas lost the elections but was later appointed chief of the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

Threat of lawsuit

At the House of Representatives, Albay congressman Edcel Lagman said Malacañang is risking lawsuit if it continues to withhold or delay pork barrel allocations to certain House members.

In his briefing on PDAF before neophyte lawmakers, Lagman cited the benefits of the congressional allocation, particularly to the poor, and defended it from criticisms.

Asked by a neophyte lawmaker if the executive branch can legally withhold or delay the release of the PDAF to a congressman, Lagman said: “My answer is, unfortunately, yes.”

“It is being done and I think there is a need to question this action before the judiciary because no one has attempted to question the non-disbursement of the PDAF before the courts,” Lagman said.

“I hope this will not happen to anyone of you because these things happen and thus is part of the realities of partisan politics,” he said.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad earlier cited “political realities” as the reason why some opposition lawmakers’ PDAF were withheld. – With Paolo Romero