Senators calling for PDAF abolition, also got 'pork'

MANILA, Philippines - Senators pushing for the abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund or pork barrel also received at least P150 million each from 2009 to 2012, based on data from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

The 15 lawmakers who have joined calls to scrap PDAF amid controversies on its alleged misuse were allotted millions in pork barrel funds the past years, with the obvious exception of a few who have only been elected to Congress this year.

Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who filed a resolution on Wednesday seeking the ban on the PDAF used a total of P455 million in pork barrel funds from 2009 to 2012.

The Commission on Audit (COA) has questioned Cayetano for procuring items such as ambulances and motorcycles for barangays in Taguig City, even without requests from the beneficiaries. The senator has denied the accusation.

Cayetano was also criticized for having Taguig City, where he formerly held public office, as his only local government beneficiary.

Cayetano also said in a television interview on Friday the he supports the nationwide protests set for Monday, August 26, calling on the government to do away with the pork.

"Buong puso ko pong sinususportahan mag-People Popwer ang ating mga kababayan na ipakita na yes to projects sa buong Pilipinas na walang anomalya but no to pork barrel," he said.

Senator Francis "Chiz" Escudero used part of the P353 milllion he got from 2009 to 2012 to help finance the construction of public markets in provinces in Luzon and Visayas, based on the DBM records.

Ecudero has been advocating for the scrapping of the pork barrel fund. On Thursday, he filed a separate resolution seeking to prohibit the distribution of the PDAF to lawmakers.

A table showing PDAF allocation per year of lawmakers who recently sought the ban on pork. Sourced from DBM records from 2009 to 2012.

Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago also filed a resolution for the three-year ban on pork. She was mentioned in the special COA report as among the lawmakers who exceeded their pork allocation.

Related story: 15 senators: Why they were mentioned in COA report

Senators Gregorio Honasan and Ralph Recto have said that if the PDAF will be abolished, all discretionary or social funds of the executive agencies should also be cut.

Recto used P327 million of his pork barrel, much of which said to be for projects in his home province of Batangas, since 2009.

Honasan, meanwhile, was mentioned several times in the COA report for "procurements (that) did not comply with existing regulations and not documented" as well as for other questionable transactions for supposed agricultural projects and organizations.

Senator Ramon "Bong" Revilla spent at least P565 million of his allotment from 2009, and was noted in the COA report to have been provided by the DBM with P853 million from 2007 to 2009.

The funds he received were also said to have not only exceeded by P269 million, but chanelled P340 million to a non-government organization.

Senators each receive P200 million in pork barrel annually.

Senators can choose not to receive the annual PDAF allocation, which was what former Senator Panfilo Lacson and Joker Arroyo did during their terms.