News Release August 8, 2013 Reference: Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares, 09178350459 BAYAN MUNA ASKS MALACANANG: ACCOUNT FOR THE P75 BILLION PRESIDENTIAL PORK BARREL Says Pres. Aquino enjoys ‘unli’ pork Bayan Muna Rep. Neri J. Colmenares today demanded that Malacanang account for the P75 Billion in 2012 and P27 Billion in 2013 it has withdrawn from various agencies and realigned to various projects. “National Budget Circular 541 issued by Malacanang clearly requires that funds in various government agencies that remain unobligated by June 30, 2012 mus be centralized to the DBM so that it could be realigned to ‘cover additional funding for other existing projects’. Paragraph 5.7.3 of Circular 451, however, also allows the “centralized fund” not only to be used to augment existing programs of any agency but also “fund priority programs and projects not considered in the 2012 Budget but expected to be started or implemented during the current year”. This provision could be constitutionally infirm.” said Rep. Colmenares. “This could be interpreted to mean that projects or amounts not approved by Congress will be funded by public funds in violation of the Constitutional requirement that no public fund shall be disbursed without appropriation by law. Malacanang should explain what projects were funded under paragraph 5.7.3 and the amounts realigned thereto because with this circular the President practically enjoys ‘unli’- pork,” said the progressive solon. DBM Sec. Butch Abad admitted during the budget hearings that P 75Billion came from at least eight under spending government agencies in 2012 namely, DOTC, DSWD, DOH, DAR, DENR, DepEd, DA and DPWH. He also argued that the provision “projects not considered in the 2012 Budget” in NBC Circular 541 still pertains to existing projects approved by Congress. Colmenares, however, disagrees. “The language in the circular is clear, and it says ‘projects not considered in the 2012 Budget’. In any case, the best way to resolve this is for Malacanang to give Congress documents showing how much were centralized and which projects they were spent on. We will wait for Sec. Abad’s promise to provide Congress with a list of said realignments. ” he said. “The fact, however, remains that this is an almost unlimited presidential pork barrel because it has been suddenly transformed into a lump sum amount and allows the president to choose projects and beneficiaries for the said fund. And this does not include the billions of pesos in PAGCOR funds given to the Presidential Social Fund and the Billions more in Malampaya funds which gives the President the authority, similar to members of Congress, to spend the funds on projects and beneficiaries he chooses or favors,” the lawmaker said. Colmenares also asked Malacanang to explain the discrepancies found in the budget submitted by the DBCC if only to ensure transparency. “Strangely, the Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF) reported higher amounts of funds actually obligated by agencies in 2012 than that reported in Malacanang’s National Expenditures Programs (NEP) Table B. Worse, there are conflicting amounts appropriated for the various agencies in the same NEP book. It does not augur well for transparency that such billion peso discrepancies exist in the government budget which could have resulted from the multitude of realignments made by Malacanang. I am sure COA is having a hard time tracing these realignments. In the end however, the real issue is the abolition of pork barrel. Whether it is congressional or presidential pork barrel it is a source of corruption and it has to be abolished now,” ###. Office of Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Javier Colmenares House of Representatives Quezon City
Posted on: Sat, 10 Aug 2013 18:23:05 +0000
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