With no ‘pork,’ thousands of students, patients to lose govt support – Abad November 20, 2013 5:37pm Tags: Bantay Kaban , Department of Budget and Management Hundred of thousands of students and patients in government hospitals will lose government support after the Supreme Court (SC) declared the priority development assistance fund (PDAF) unconstitutional, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said Wednesday. In a radio interview, Abad said some 300,000 students studying in state universities and colleges (SUCs) will lose their government scholarships due to the SC ruling on the PDAF, commonly known as pork barrel. Eto yung isang magiging sakit ng ulo ng mga congressman at to some extent senators kasi marami kasing mga bata na naka-enroll sa mga SUCs. Ang epekto nitong desisyon na ito is to also invalidate the appropriations for that. Yung pondo, ibinalik ng SC sa Treasury, the Cabinet official said over Radyo Inquirer. Patients relying on government support to undergo treatment in government hospitals will also be affected by the striking down of the PDAF, Abad added. Kung pupunta kayo sa PGH [Philippine General Hospital] at Heart Center e mahaba po ang listahan ng diyan e. Daang libo rin siguro iyan. Mas marami siguro iyon. Hindi naman natin talikuran sila dahil karamihan sa kanila ay galing sa mahihirap na pamilya, he said. On Tuesday, the SC voted 14-0-1 against the PDAF, a multimillion-peso discretionary fund that allows lawmakers to identify their priority projects. The high court ordered that unreleased PDAF for 2013, amounting to over P14 billion, be returned to government coffers. A proposal has been made at the Senate to convert these funds into a calamity fund. Members of the House of Representatives earlier warned that the total scrapping of the PDAF would affect scholarships and health programs for their constituents. Supplementary budget eyed Abad further said that the executive branch may submit a supplementary budget to Congress to continue the financial support of government scholars and patients despite the SC ruling. Puwede tugunan ang problema ng mga estudyante at may sakit na nakaasa rito sa PDAF, Abad said. In a separate interview, Senate President Franklin Drilon said the chamber accepts the decision of the high court despite possible repercussions on their constituents. Tanggap na natin yan. Ganun ang decision ng Korte Suprema dahil yun ang hinihiling ng taumbayan, Drilon said over GMA News TVs News To Go. The Senate leader said he believes public outrage over pork barrel funds influenced the SC decision striking down the PDAF. Ang problema ay ang paggamit ng pondo. Yan na-influence ang Korte Suprema dahil sa balita na mga kaso kung saan nasangkot ang ilang senador at kongresista sa di tamang paggamit ng PDAF kaya ang importante, ang transparency and accountability, Drilon said. Three incumbent senators and several former members of the House of Representatives have been named respondents in a plunder complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman in connection with the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam. The scam, allegedly masterminded by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, involved the funneling of pork barrel funds to bogus non-government organizations. Public outrage over the anomaly has resulted in the largest protest gathering under the three-year-old Aquino administration. — BM, GMA News Tags: Bantay Kaban , Department of Budget and Management
Posted on: Thu, 21 Nov 2013 08:56:39 +0000
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