Fr. Robert Reyes. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Let’s run before we march.
As a prelude to the million person march at Rizal Park on Monday for the abolition of the pork barrel, a “Run Against Pork, Run for Good Governance” will be staged Friday morning to convince President Aquino to take a more decisive stand against the pork barrel system and agree to its abolition.
Fr. Robert Reyes, the “running priest,” said the Run Against Pork will start at 9 a.m. from the Rizal monument to the statues of Sen. Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr. and President Cory Aquino, the parents of the current President, at Rizal Park.
Among the organizers of the run are the Movement Against Dynasties, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, Sr. Mary John Mananzan of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines and other religious groups.
“We find (the President’s) position to be weak—that he does not want to abolish the pork barrel. The people are his bosses and they want the pork barrel scrapped,” said Reyes in an interview.
He said the protest run would span the monuments to national hero Jose Rizal and the parents of the President to remind the latter of what they had fought for.
“Are all the sufferings and martyrdom of our heroes for naught? Has it come to this that those who benefit are the politicians who do not share the values of those who love our country?” Reyes said.
Reyes said he understood that the President needed the pork barrel to dangle before members of Congress to get them to pass his priority bills.
“Yes, the pork barrel is a political tool to get his agenda through but the people are his bosses and the people are angry. Congress and the Senate are not his bosses. He shouldn’t please just a few of his friends,” Reyes said.
“(Aquino’s) agenda will face more obstacles if he plays politics with the politicians. The people are tired with how politics is played in the Philippines. (His agenda) will have more chances of success if the people are behind him,” he said.
Reyes said that if the President did not want to abolish the pork barrel, he could impose a one-year moratorium on its release and divert the money to flood control projects.
“The funds could go to projects to mitigate climate change or flooding. That would be timely because of the widespread flooding we just suffered,” he said.
Filipinos living in Hong Kong, however, had a different take on what the pork barrel should be used for.
In calling for the abolition of the pork barrel on Thursday, militant groups led by the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan-HK), Gabriela-HK, Promotion of Church People’s Response (PCPR-HK) and United Filipinos in Hong Kong (Unifil-Migrante-HK) said the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and Aquino’s social fund should instead be channeled to social services like education, health and onsite services for overseas Filipino workers.
The groups also called for the prosecution of those involved in the pork barrel scams.
“Heads must roll and investigations and prosecutions must continue regardless of who is involved, even the President himself,” said Bayan-HK country information officer Norman Uy Carnay in a statement.
“It is immoral that while millions of Filipinos are forced by poverty and unemployment to seek survival overseas, there are a few government officials and their cohorts who are wallowing in the billions of the people’s money,” said Sol Pillas, vice chair of Unifil.