Ex- SC chief Puno calls for people’s congress to scrap ‘pork,’ DAP

Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—Former Chief Justice Reynato Puno called for a people’s congress to enact a law that will abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund, Disbursement Acceleration Program and to check the abuses of Congress.

Puno, in a statement Tuesday, made the call saying “it is obvious that Congress will not enact the necessary law to abolish the notorious pork barrel because it cannot legislate against its own selfish interest.”

“The legislators have lost their moral authority to be the guardians of the people’s money,” Puno said.

He said organizers of the Million People March Movement should exercise the reserve power of the people as stated under Republic Act 6735 or the Act Providing for a System of Initiative and Referendum.

Puno said only the people could protect themselves against “abusive” lawmakers.

“Under our 1987 Constitution, the power to enact laws is no longer exclusively vested in Congress but can now be directly exercised by the people in recognition of the doctrine that the people are the real sovereign and not their elected legislators,” Puno said.

“The people should unsheathe and use this power to make laws whenever their elected representatives default in the performance of their sacred duty to enact laws to promote the general interest or worse, whenever they betray the public trust,” he added.