Pork eats a fifth of budget
This is a blatant case of lawmakers breaking the law at will. How else would you describe yourselves, Mr. Abante, Castro, Paduano, Fernandez, et al?
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This is a blatant case of lawmakers breaking the law at will. How else would you describe yourselves, Mr. Abante, Castro, Paduano, Fernandez, et al?
It’s truly disgusting that in this country, the very lawmakers mandated to create laws are the worst lawbreakers. I refer to the insatiable greed of lawmakers for the people’s money. The take of highway robbers and hold-up criminals is peanuts compared to what your so-called “representathieves” are raking in from the government’s coffers.
Before I proceed with the details behind this piece against hoodlums in blazers and ternos, let me cite the Supreme Court’s decision on the matter. In an en banc ruling, voting 14-0 in November 2013, the highest tribunal declared that PDAF, or the congressional pork barrel, is unconstitutional.
Clear as the midday sun. I don’t think there’s a need to elaborate, but for better clarity and enlightenment, the Supreme Court struck down the entire 2013 PDAF provisions and all legal foundations of past and present congressional pork barrel laws — which, incidentally, serve as the bread and butter of congressional representatives and perhaps all the so-called “honorable” members of the Batasan.
According to Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong, the take of congressmen, LGU executives and DPWH officials reaches up to 65 percent, leaving only 35 percent for actual work — often resulting in substandard infrastructure. To amass instant wealth, joining these three bad eggs seems to be the way for the greedy.
In the 2025 General Appropriations Act, our national budget stands at P6.352 trillion — a massive sum, a significant portion of which isn’t even in the treasury but will be sourced from loans, perhaps bond issuances. It’s a deficit budget, something most households would never allow because common sense dictates that spending should be based on earnings. But in this country, common-sense budgeting doesn’t apply.
By the end of 2025, our debt is projected to reach P17.35 trillion. As of my birth month last year, it was P16.09 trillion, indicating a rapid increase in borrowing — an additional P1.26 trillion in less than three months. Oh my God!
We will not tackle yet the so-called “blanks” while they remain pending before the Supreme Court, where notable lawyers have petitioned for the declaration of the P6.326 trillion 2025 GAA as unconstitutional. Freedom from Debt Coalition Executive Director Zyza Nadine Suzara labeled it as the “most corrupt and excessively greedy” budget. Their study revealed that from 2023-2025, one-fifth (1/5) of appropriated funds are allocated to infrastructure or soft projects. In short, it’s undeniably pork barrel. If their calculations are correct, no less than P2.077 trillion worth of legislative projects have guaranteed cash cover.
I won’t dwell on the figures — they’ll only cause more agony. Instead, let’s focus on what is right and what is constitutional. So we ask: If the provision of pork for Batasan occupants is unconstitutional per the Supreme Court’s clear decision, why do they, by themselves, pass an appropriation law granting them vast sums of taxpayers’ money — to pocket or to spend (we don’t know where or how)?
This is a blatant case of lawmakers breaking the law at will. How else would you describe yourselves, Mr. Abante, Castro, Paduano, Fernandez, et al.?
Obviously, this is also a glaring conflict of interest. Curiously, how come they are still at large? Perhaps, as they say, “What are we in power for?”
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