Aquino: It’s time to abolish pork barrel
By Kristine Angeli Sabillo
INQUIRER.neugust 23rd, 2013
MANILA, Philippines—President Benigno Aquino III on Friday yielded to public pressure and announced to scrap the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) ahead of Monday’s nationwide protest calling for the abolition of the graft-tainted pork barrel fund.
“Despite the reforms we have implemented, we have seen, as the events of the past weeks have shown, that greater change is necessary to fight against those who are determined to abuse the system,” Aquino said in Malacañang.
“It is time to abolish the PDAF.”
The remark was a turnaround from Aquino’s position Monday, saying the pork barrel fund had its “good uses” and should not be junked.
Collusion
Aquino at the same time vowed to prosecute those responsible for misusing the fund, which allows lawmakers to allocate government money for projects in their district.
He directed the Department of Justice and other agencies under the Inter-Agency Anti-Graft Coordinating Council to investigate, prosecute and jail those who pocketed public funds and seize their ill-gotten wealth.
“What is wrong — indeed, what has outraged our people — was the collusion among a former president ready to trade favors just to remain in power, legislators, and members of the bureaucracy who were willing to conspire, enabled by a passive and indifferent citizenry,” Aquino said.
He was referring to his predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who has been detained in a hospital on corruption and election sabotage charges.
The Commission on Audit said last week that over P6 billion allocated over a three-year period was released to questionable nongovernment organizations (NGOs) and ghost projects identified by lawmakers as beneficiaries.
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