Lagman: Only Congress can abolish ‘pork’

By: Kristine Angeli Sabillo - 11 years ago

Former Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman RYAN LEAGOGO/INQUIRER.net

MANILA, Philippines – A former lawmaker on Tuesday said only Congress can actually abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund, despite President Benigno Aquino III’s earlier announcement.

Former Albay representative Edcel Lagman said, “It is the Congress which has the plenary power to actually abolish the PDAF” since it is a legislated lump sum item under the General Appropriations Act.

“The retention, abolition or replacement of the PDAF is a congressional call in the exercise of its power of the purse,” he said.

Lagman said the 2014 PDAF was even included in the President’s proposed national budget to Congress. And even if the executive recalls the lump sum, Congress may still provide for it in their version of the General Appropriations Bill (GAB).

However, the former minority floor leader said, “Congress does not legislate from a vacuum as it has to be sensitive and responsive to developments which show that some conspirators inside and outside of the Congress have marauded the PDAF.”

Lagman said it is the House Committee on Appropriations which will have to delete the PDAF from the GAB.

“It is the House of Representatives, where all appropriation measures emanate, which will decide on the demise of the PDAF and officiate over its requiem,” he said.

Budget Secretary Florencio Abad earlier clarified that the P25.2 billion allocation for the PDAF will remain in the 2014 national budget. However, he said it will be subject to “line-item budgeting.”

The President on Aug. 23 announced the abolition of the PDAF. However, he also said, “Your legislators can identify and suggest projects for your districts, but these will have to go through the budgetary process.”

Both critics and lawmakers questioned the statement.

The Centerlaw and Concerned Citizens Movement said, “This may mean that legislator’s discretion on project identification and implementation may remain.”

“PDAF used to be known as the CDF or the Countryside Development Fund. It was named PDAF after investigative journalists exposed the CDF as pork barrel. It may be that this alleged abolition of PDAF is yet to be another renaming,” the group said.

On Tuesday, whistleblower Jun Lozada also said he did not believe Aquino will truly abolish the pork barrel.

“They’ll probably just change the name,” he said in an interview with Radyo Inquirer 990AM.

Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Representative Antonio Tinio said that the reformation of PDAF with a different name was a case of “same dog with a different collar.” While Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares called the new scheme “itemized pork barrel system.”