Senate, House to share P99-billion ‘pork barrel’ in 2019

MANILA, Philippines — Senators and congressmen will share a total of nearly P99 billion in pork barrel funds this year – that is, if President Duterte ignores the appeal of anti-“pork” Sen. Panfilo Lacson for him to excise fat in his administration’s proposed P3.757-trillion budget.

The lawmakers’ “pork” insertions are reflected in a matrix of realignments the House of Representatives, the Senate and their bicameral conference (bicam) committee have made in Duterte’s budget proposal.

Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., appropriations committee chairman, provided the matrix to the media “in the spirit of transparency” even if it embarrasses House members and senators.

One committee member has told reporters privately that they want to be transparent “in protest over the lopsided sharing of funds in favor of senators.”

The matrix shows that congressmen have inserted pork barrel funds in the budget amounting to P23.9 billion, while senators realigned a total of P49.6 billion. The bicam had P25.2 billion in its own insertions, for a total of P98.7 billion.

Andaya and his Senate counterpart Loren Legarda jointly chaired the budget conference.

If the bicam insertions are to be split equally, senators will share P62.2 billion or 63 percent of the P99-billion “pizza pie,” as Lacson calls the pork barrel, while the 291 House members will have P36.5 billion or 37 percent to divide among themselves.

Bicam amendments are usually considered as common funds.

The congressional pork barrel used to be known as Priority Development Assistance Fund before the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional in November 2013.

It had an annual appropriation of P25 billion. Each senator was allocated P200 million, while each House member was given P70 million for his district.

The congressional pork barrel held only P2.5 billion during the time of the late president Corazon Aquino.

The P99-billion “pork” was funded out of the controversial P75-billion Department of Budget and Management (DBM) “insertion” in the 2019 funding for the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and reductions taken from other agencies or lump-sum appropriations.

P75 billion realigned

The entire P75 billion has been realigned, though P46.4 billion of it was retained with the DPWH, no longer as a DBM insertion but as part of the lawmakers’ pork barrel.

Of the P46.4 billion, the congressmen’s share amounts to P20.7 billion, while senators have P25.4 billion and the bicam has P274 million.

Billions in additional realignments were given to other agencies where pork barrel funds are usually hidden.

The Department of Health received P17.6 billion, of which P1.6 billion is treated as a Senate insertion, while P16 billion was added by the bicam.

The P16 billion would be spent for health facilities senators and congressmen will identify. There was no money for this purpose in the President’s budget proposal.

Other departments that were allocated additional funds and which are “pork” conduits are labor and employment (which received P2.7 billion), education (P2.5 billion), agriculture (P485 million), social welfare and development (P1.6 billion) and trade and industry (P1.5 billion).

The House and the Senate and their bicam made the realignments without the details of projects, activities or programs to be funded.

According to Andaya, both chambers started the detailed listing last Monday.

He promised to release the House itemization when the Congress version of the budget is ready for printing prior to submission to the President for his signature.

Andaya also refuted Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno’s claim that the government’s early procurement system actually started in 2009 during his term as budget chief under the Arroyo administration.  – With Delon Porcalla