Pork by another name?

A certain region’s chief budget defenders are sweating bullets this week, according to information that came Nosy Tarsee’s way, after a petitioner from their own backyard lobbed a petition asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) on more than P22 billion worth of “local government support” money, which on paper was supposed to trickle down to towns and barangays but, on closer read, apparently came with so much discretionary space for the men at the top to release however and whenever they please.

Nosy Tarsee hears the petition’s favorite phrase, “excessive executive discretion,” is being whispered in Palace corridors with a knowing little wink because isn’t that exactly the complaint everyone’s been hurling at the national budget, too? Same song, different region, same missing accountability.

The irony writes itself as the region in question that was built on the promise of self-rule is now facing accusations of its own purse strings being tied with the same loose knot Congress has been fending off questions about for months.

And it’s not a solo act. Nosy Tarsee was told of a second petition landing on the Supreme Court’s desk gunning for the region’s P114-billion budget for next year, this time on a more old-fashioned gripe: allegedly skimping on education’s constitutionally mandated top billing while other line items get fed first.

Two petitions, one region, one very busy raffle wheel at the SC.

If the urgent prayer for a special draw is granted, development projects across the Bangsamoro could be in deep freeze while the magistrates sort out who, exactly, gets to spend the people’s money — and how.

Nosy Tarsee’s two cents: When the discretion is “excessive” enough to warrant its own petition, that’s not autonomy. That’s a blank check with extra steps.