Vice President Jejomar Binay. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Vice President Jejomar Binay on Tuesday said he was willing to abolish the P200 million social services budget in his office if this can be considered as Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or “pork barrel.”
But Binay said the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) should first clarify whether or not the amount included in the regular budget of the Office of the Vice President was considered PDAF.
“The DBM should say if the amount is considered PDAF. If it is PDAF, then abolish it in keeping with the President’s directive,” he said in a statement.
Binay said the OVP’s social services budget has been audited by the Commission on Audit (COA) and the agency has praised the OVP on how it disburses the funds.
“Our disbursement for social services have not only been audited by COA but also praised by the agency. The disbursements have passed the agency’s scrutiny,” he pointed out.
Congress gave OVP P200 million in the 2011 budget sourced from the unused PDAF of President Benigno Aquino III during his term as senator.
Binay had urged Filipinos to be more vigilant in making government officials accountable for the use of government funds.
He said the people should unite and make sure that the funds were used in a transparent and impartial manner.
“Kasi alam ho ninyo ang isa pang naging problema dito ginagamit ho kasi sa pulitika. Merong mga budget ng mga agencies ng gobyerno ginagamit sa eleksiyon. Pero talagang bawal naman yon,” said the Vice President.
(Because you know, one problem here is that the funds are being used in politics. There are budgets in the agencies of government that are being used during elections. That’s really illegal)
But Binay said the root cause of the people’s disgruntlement was actually graft and corruption, and not the issue of the PDAF itself.
“Ang ikinagagalit ng tao doon ‘yung dahil sa ‘yung pera hindi napunta para sa ikabubuti ng mga kababayan natin,” he said.
(What makes the people angry here is that because the funds did not go to the interests of our countrymen)
The people’s discontent, he said, could also be traced back to the President’s State of the Nation Address when he berated officials of the Bureau of Customs. From there, he said, the issue of graft and corruption snowballed.
“Nangyari ito noong sinabihan ni Pangulo na ‘ang kakapal ng mukha ninyo’. That’s the start of the upheaval here. And then in the process lumabas po ‘yong P10 bilyon na naging subject of graft and corruption,” Binay pointed out.
He said the perpetrators of the crime should be prosecuted and punished.
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