Opposition seeks release of pork barrel

MANILA, Philippines—The opposition in the House of Representatives has threatened to boycott the budget briefing scheduled on Monday if its share of the Priority Development Assistance Fund,  popularly known as “pork barrel”, is not released in full.

“As minority leader, I do not consider it a feat or a silencer to get the full amount of my congressional district’s half-year Priority Development Assistance Fund allocation after the recent releases of the corresponding notices of cash allocation (NCAs), while many members of the minority have zero or incomplete releases for their respective districts’ entitlements,” said Minority Leader  Representative Edcel Lagman of Albay.

Lagman said his first district of Albay is entitled to receive its PDAF share just like all other districts nationwide.

He described the uneven treatment of opposition legislators as a “divide-and-rule” strategy aimed at driving a wedge within the ranks of the opposition.

“The minority as a block demands the full release of the PDAF to all its members and supports the complaints of some marginalized members of the majority coalition who are similarly discriminated against,” he said.

Lagman said that if the releases were not made soonest, the minority would boycott the budget briefings to be conducted starting August 1 by the committee on appropriations or the committee hearings on the 2012 proposed national budget after the general appropriations bill is filed.

“Budget briefings and hearings are exercises in futility and are worthless tapestries if funds are impounded and immobilized after the General Appropriations Act is enacted,” Lagman said.

Last week, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. and Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales assured members that the funds would be released as soon as the lawmakers fulfilled all the requirements.

Both Belmonte and Gonzales stressed that they, too, had not received their share since they had yet to submit their requests and fulfill the requirements for release.