Pork scam bolsters good governance bid

CITY OF CALAPAN—Charges of kickbacks and misuse by legislators of billions of pesos in pork barrel, formally called the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), have resurrected a movement for good governance among city residents.

“We demand the abolition of the PDAF system and the prosecution of the culprits,” said Resti Consigo, a Church-based leader who is among the convenors of the Alliance for Good Governance (All-Go-Go) in Calapan.

All-Go-Go in Calapan was formed following a series of dialogues with various sectors in the city. It gathered students, senior citizens, businessmen, doctors, lawyers, members of cooperatives, clergy members and seminarians, development workers, school heads and media people into joining a prayer-march protest at the city plaza on Sept. 21.

Ned de Guzman, a member of the Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals, said “the pork barrel issue is everybody’s concern because when one pays for a product, one is taxed.”

Despite the rain, over 1,000 people joined the rally, which featured cultural presentations calling for accountability and patriotism, to demand the scrapping of the pork barrel. They marched from Oriental Mindoro National High School to the plaza.

On Aug. 26, more than 20 people convened at the plaza in response to the netizens’ call for a Million People March to Luneta.

Marius Agua, a professor, said the pork controversy had revived the movement for good governance. A Facebook account in the name of All-Go-Go in Calapan has also been created. Madonna T. Virola, Inquirer Southern Luzon