Half a million pesos for each of the country’s town for education.
Sen. Francis Escudero has pledged to deliver this out of his pork barrel funds to help fill gaps in the country’s educational system.
The total package for educational assistance for each of the country’s 1,494 municipalities would reach P747 million, about half of what Escudero expects to receive in pork barrel funds.
“Education is the great equalizer in society,” said Escudero in a statement.
Each senator is entitled to identify projects worth at least P200 million in pork barrel annually. A senator could be responsible for pork projects worth P1.2 billion.
Escudero said what he intends to allot for education programs nationwide could definitely use some help from the pork barrel funds of other senators.
“During campaigns, everyone is a fan of youth and education issues, but when elected into office, do they really put their funds where their mouths had been?” he said.
Escudero said if each of the 24 senators were to adopt the practice and contribute P500,000 each from their pork, then every municipality in the country will receive P12 million every six years for education projects.