Filipino-Americans Call on Pres. Aquino to Scrap “Pork Barrel” Aug. 21, 2013 Press Release LOS ANGELES—In an act of solidarity with the Filipinos’ public upheaval against Philippine government’s corruption leading to the “Million March to Luneta” on August 26, Filipino-Americans and their allies resolve to organize parallel protest on Aug. 25-26 in key cities in the US. Organizers demand among other things an immediate scrapping of the “pork barrel” or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), which as asserted by the Commission on Audit (COA), has been a great source of corruption and pillaging of the people’s taxes. The United States Action Against PDAF (USAP) will hold candle light vigil to show support and indignation on August 25, 5 p.m. at the Philippine Consulate General, 3600 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles. “Enough with politicians pocketing people’s taxes while the rest of the country are suffering from the devastation of the floods,” said Art Garcia, community leader and seniors’ advocate. The veterans, widows, and health professionals will follow with rally and delegation to the Philippine Consulate at 447 Sutter Street in downtown San Francisco at 10 am on August 26. “We are sending the message to President Aquino that if he wants to clean the government, he should himself initiate scrapping the “pork barrel,” said Regalado Baldonado, WW II veteran and Commissioner of San Francisco for Veterans Affairs. Baldonado adds, “It hurts us to see our countrymen and our families suffer because they have been deprived of services and projects that could have been delivered had politicians not chose to profit from the pork barrel.” “Enough!”Other groups will rally and send delegation to DC, Honolulu, and New York. USAP will deliver demand letter that includes: 1.The abolition of the pork barrel system in the euphemism of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the source of graft and corruption in the government used for political patronage and not for the benefit of the people, 2. The transfer of abolished PDAF to government budget for basic services like education, roads, health, and reforestation, but not debt servicing. 3. Punishing all grafters in the governments and those who were found guilty of malversation of public funds and ostentatious living out of PDAF. 4. Sequestration of all properties of corrupt officials and grafters like Janet Napoles. 5. Calling on President Aquino to divest himself of his own PDAF and set a good example. “The Filipino youth in the US stands with the youth in the Philippines in their fight for transparency and clean government. If politicians cannot stay on the righteous path, they need to resign,” said Annaliza Caballes, New York-based youth and community leader. USAP draws support from individuals and organizations like BANTAY PILIPINAS-USA, Alliance Philippines, International ANSWER Coalition, ANSWER-LA, March Forward Veterans, Bernardo Bernardo, Justice for Filipino- American Veterans (JFAV), Seniors for Empowerment (S4PACE), Echo Park Community Coalition (EPCC), Association of Widows, Advocates, Relatives for Equality (AWARE), Ninotchka Rosca, Kabataang maka-Bayan (Pro People Youth), Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC), Atty. Arnedo Valera, and Ugnayan ng mga Anak ng Bayan NY/NJ. Should you want to endorse the above demands as organizations, please email Violy Reyes, RN at unrecognizedvets@yahoo
Posted on: Thu, 22 Aug 2013 06:54:04 +0000
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