Critical analysis in line with the recent PDAF scam involving senators

and other top officials.

INTRODUCTION:
The pork barrel hullabaloo that astounded our nation-state has opened our eyes
to the severe inequality done by the very people we trusted whose main business is
supposedly to gratify our country and people. It is lamentable and by some reasons we
are repulsed by the corruption that worked beyond our comprehension and we dare
question why this exploitation instituted by some government officials especially from
the legislative chambers, coming from left to right, both the administration allies and the
opposition groups, succeeded their sadistic ways of plaguing our beloved nation.
In truth and in fact, the taxes we pay are hard-earned money and should rightly
go to projects and to defray the expenses of the government that aim to benefit and for
the development of our nation. Instead of uplifting the lives of the Filipinos, these taxes
are being pocketed by greedy, cunny and unprincipled government officials.
Somewhere along the way, our system of government got contaminated by the
bad practice of "pork barrel" or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), in
which legislators started meddling in the actual execution of projects, thus blurring the
distinction between legislation and execution, so fully defined and enshrined in our Law
of the Land - the Philippine Constitution.
The PDAF to discuss a bit is divided into hard and soft allocations. Hard
projects refer to small infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, drainage systems, etc.
Soft portions refer to scholarships, livelihood assistance programs, medical assistance
and financial assistance to local government units. The soft allocations, however, have
become more fashionable to corrupt politicians because they cannot be seen.
The genuineness of PDAF in the hands of legislators, in addition to violating the
Constitution, also has perpetrated another serious detriment on good governance. This
is manifested by the unconscionable attention afforded by the legislators to actual
projects and programs (i.e. roads, school buildings, basketball courts, etc.) in their
respective areas of jurisdictions, has taken too much time from their indispensable role
as law makers resultant of which, dozens of very important bills for the common good of
society have languished, remain unscathed and some of them even dying a natural
death.
This institutional anomaly clearly violates the provisions of the Constitution, which
succinctly states that the Legislature has the responsibility of lawmaking while the
Executive is the branch that has to do with the execution or implementation of projects
and programs for the common good.
A number of reports and documents both from government accounting agencies
and private entities have pointed out that collusion exists between lawmakers and these
NGOs outside the government. It is indicative therefore that these NGOs continued
getting funds even after state auditors questioned their qualifications or the way they
handled funds or both.
It may also be possible true as pointed out by some observers that then and now
the executive has used the pork barrel as a carrot and stick for lawmakers to support
Malacaang priorities.

At the very least, I would venture to say that corruption will get worse year after
year when controversies like the PDAF and pork barrel issues are swept under the rug,
politicians are emboldened to continue misusing the public funds for some ulterior
motives and for personal aggrandizement.

Will it be enough to have them indited in court?

No.
The pork barrel scam involving the alleged misuse of at least P6 billion worth of
lawmakers discretionary funds sparked massive protest to abolish the system. The
woman at the center of the scam, the self-confessed bagman identified as having
released lawmakers funds to bogus NGOs linked to pork barrel scam Janet Lim
Napoles is detained over serious illegal detention charges, and those legislators
involved also faces a plunder charges before the Office of the Ombudsman.
The High Court, ordered the investigation of government officials who may have
misused the funds. House Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora said, they will make sure
to get to the bottom of the scam. It is my position that proper and thorough investigation
should be actualized so that those guilty should be made answerable for their actions.
Recently however, there are three (3) separate and distinct lists of those
government officials both from the past and present administrations, legislators from the
13th, 14th and 15th congress whose names are dragged into this present PDAF
controversy. This occurrence has created ripples to the present anomaly as to which list
is authentic that carries authority and be afforded more credence.
Be that as it may, it is significant that those whose names are linked to the
controversies should be afforded the chance to defend themselves especially for the
sake of the majority of the legislative chambers whose names and reputations do not
deserve to be maligned and besmirched by mere suspicion or to be equally convicted in
the public mind as the few who are truly guilty.
To borrow the language of a lawmaker and to follow his line of thinking and frame
of mind let us jail whoever deserves to be jailed, and then let us throw away the key.
For me, I subscribed to the immortal statement that let justice be served and let
the law take its course.

What should be the course of action of the government in order to

avoid similar things to happen in the future?
The first institution that can be reformed for long-term development as a result of
the recent scam is the legislature. As correctly and aptly said by a great thinker, and I
quote Congress has absolutely no business getting involved in the execution of
projects in whatever, even just recommendatory, capacity. At first, there was a strong
suggestion of "abolishing Congress" which may be rephrased as "abolishing the access
of people in Congress to the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).
It is of common knowledge that some prominent groups, the oligarch society who
benefited from PDAF and some very well-known politicians both from the administration
and the opposition sides have objected to the proposition to remove the PDAF because
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according to them if the pork barrel is removed from Congress, no one will run for our
lawmaking body.
I, for one, believed and you will agree with me that only the wrong kind of people
will no longer run. But a new breed of Filipinos will want to be lawmakers and would
truly be the true and real epitome of public service and not mere anathemas to the
service or worse, a disgrace to the profession and of the general populace where they
are supposed and constitutionally duty bound to serve with utmost dedication,
commitment and loyalty.
This is like dreaming a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, nevertheless, I have
an utmost faith and I truly trust and believe that one day, in the future, there will be
those from the educated class of our country and people who will hold the reign of our
legislative chambers, somebody that have as their primary motivation the building of a
just and peaceful society based on enlightened legislation.
Without an iota of doubt, this humiliating and excruciating episode of the pork
barrel may still lead to a further strengthening of Philippine institutions that will someday
outlast the present regime. Our aim here of building strong institutions is the key to
long-term socio-economic progress in this beloved country of ours.
I submit, and it is my position that there is nothing wrong that part of these PDAF
money will be channeled to legitimate non-governmental organizations (NGOs) if in the
judgment of the appropriate authorities, these NGOs are in a better position and with
moral ascendancy to implement projects more wisely and expeditiously, and as long as
the same rigor in auditing and monitoring are properly exercised, maintained and well
supervised as in the line items in the annual budget.
It is worthwhile mentioning hereto, that in response to the call of the Filipino
people who cried for justice, the House of Representatives adopting the doctrine of selfpreservation has decided to scrap from the 2014 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and
re-aligned its P25.2 Billion allocation to six (6) executive agencies.
Prudence would dictate that still, there is a system of paper trail that guarantees
the pork barrel-hard and soft to be properly spent to the advantage of the Filipino
people, paving the way for this great nation to rise again and to become one of the tiger
economies in Asia and in this part of the globe. May GOD be truly served and praised.

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