The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), known throughout the nation as the “pork barrel,” encourages graft by providing money for unsupervised discretionary spending. The PDAF pork barrel is only the tip of the iceberg, however, because these special development funds represent only about 1% of the national budget, and the budget process allows even greater misappropriation. The “Pork Barrel” This year each of the 214 congressmen is allocated 60 million pesos (roughly USD1.5 million) for spending at his discretion, and each of the 24 senators receives twice that amount.[1] With no real oversight or accountability, this institution is rife with corruption. Some of the funds intended for priority development projects in the congressmen’s districts, such as health care, clean water, and poverty alleviation, are typically spent on trivial projects which contribute nothing to the social and economic development of the country. Common examples are cement outdoor basketball courts and “waiting sheds,” small awnings or covered benches beside roads, where those waiting for a bus can get out of the rain.[2] Large signs laud the congressman for spending government funds on the project (instead of just pocketing them?).[3] Such projects are often accomplished just before elections, so signs touting the congressmen provide free campaign advertising for those seeking re-election. If congressmen do initiate substantial development projects with their PDAF monies, awarding of contracts is widely abused. Pork barrel projects are often grossly overpriced, in some cases reaching “…more than 200 percent of the market prices and government-set costs,” according to The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism[4], and contractors pay a lot of kickbacks. Many citizen watchdogs, journalists, and even some legislators decry the pork barrel system and call for its abolishment. "I have to be very candid with you, that most of the P70 million a year of pork barrel or priority development assistance fund (PDAF) is not properly used," Congressman Herminio Teves said at a press conference last April.[5] The Budget Process During the budget process, instead of Congress approving, or judiciously trimming, the budget submitted by the executive branch, congressmen insert more “pork” into departmental budgets with stipulations that they will identify the projects, choose the contractor and suppliers, etc. Kickbacks may be as much as half the price of contracts awarded, and contractors, in order to squeeze any profit from their half of the project funds, are forced to use substandard materials and labor, cheating the government and hindering national development. As one example of this budget process, former Senate President Franklin Drilon revealed last month that the House more than doubled its pork barrel allocation by inserting another 13.5 billion pesos in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways. He called for lawmakers to remove this pork, but Congressman Edcel Lagman, chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, rejected Drilon’s appeal, bragging that “The primacy of the appropriation of public funds is a legislative prerogative, repeatedly sustained by the Supreme Court.”[6] A recent editorial laments, “Every year, when they [congressmen] deliberate on the national budget, the first thing they do is increase their pork barrel, the fund from which they ‘steal’ the tax money intended for projects and services for the people.”[7] Conclusion Corruption is institutionalized by the Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations to lawmakers, and on an even larger scale, by the normal budget process which allows legislators to pad the departmental budgets and then manipulate contracts to funnel funds into their pockets. Critics claim legislators grow rich under this system, and personal profit, not service to country, motivates many individuals to run for Congress. Such institutionalized corruption is bleeding the Philippines of funds desperately needed for national development.
Posted on: Sun, 18 Aug 2013 06:13:40 +0000