Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo PDI FILE PHOTO/Joan Bondoc
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo should be reminded that “pork barrel” is unconstitutional, Senator Panfilo Lacson said Friday.
“Somebody please tell the Speaker that the SC has already declared ‘pork barrel’ unconstitutional,” he said in a tweet.
Lacson was reacting to Majority Leader Rolando Andaya, Jr.’s pronouncement that unlike ousted Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, Arroyo will not give a zero budget to rival lawmakers.
“Lahat ng distrito, may pondo. ‘Yan ang klarong utos ni Speaker GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo),” Andaya told reporters. “Bottomline is that the people should not be penalized for the stand taken by their representatives.”
Arroyo said all lawmakers will be given the budget as a “gesture of goodwill.”
In 2013, the Supreme Court has declared unconstitutional the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or the discretionary funds commonly known as “pork barrel” given to lawmakers annually.