70 Cebu groups spearhead people’s initiative vs pork

A coalition of more than 70 organizations in Cebu is taking up the challenge of retired Chief Justice Reynato Puno for people to take the initiative to propose a law scrapping the graft-ridden pork barrel.

The Cebu Coalition against the Pork Barrel System said Wednesday it would launch a people’s initiative to push for legislation to remove the pork barrel. The coalition spearheaded in Cebu two antipork rallies, which were supported by the Archdiocese of Cebu.

Several Catholic bishops voiced their support for a people’s initiative to scrap the pork barrel, which they reiterated was the root of corruption and patronage politics in the country.

Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo told reporters that he was in favor of Puno’s suggestion that Filipinos, particularly the One Million People March Movement, convene a people’s congress to enact a law that will abolish the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

“Yes, I am in favor of the [former] Chief Justice’s proposal. But it should include the alternative for the common good of the country,” Lagdameo said.

But the Commission on Elections (Comelec) described as “premature” the proposal to use a people’s initiative to enact a law that would abolish the pork barrel.

“It is premature in a sense that the Supreme Court is just hearing on the [constitutionality of the pork barrel]. Once it is declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court what will the people’s initiative be for?” Comelec Chair Sixto Brillantes said at a press briefing.

Brillantes said the public should just wait for the high court to rule on the matter first.

10 percent of voters

Under the law on people’s initiative, signatures of at least 10 percent of the total number of registered voters must be gathered nationwide. The law also provides that every legislative district must be represented by at least 3 percent of the registered voters.

The Comelec is mandated by law to verify the signatures and hold a referendum for registered voters to choose to abolish the funds or not.  Brillantes said it might only take a month or two to verify the signatures, but the gathering of signatures might take time.

In a news conference on Wednesday, lawyer Ernesto Francisco Jr.  said the Cebu Coalition against the Pork Barrel System would gather 5.7 million signatures and at least 3.5 percent of the registered voters in legislative districts nationwide.

The number was more than what is required by the 1987 Constitution—10 percent of the 52 million registered voters in the country, or about 5.2 million.

Tap dioceses

Francisco said that to achieve the task, the coalition would enlist the help of the 86 dioceses all over the country. Each parish could help in the signature campaign and urge parishioners to support it.

The coalition was also counting on the help of colleges and universities as well as employees of allied business groups and companies to collect the needed signatures.

Primers on pork

To drum up support for the campaign, the group will hold an information campaign in schools, parishes, barangays, cities, towns and provinces.

Primers explaining the negative effects of the pork barrel system will also be distributed. These will also contain the alternatives to the current system.

On Nov. 9, the coalition will meet in Cebu City with representatives from various religious denominations, academe, civil society and business sector to finalize the plans for the people’s initiative.

Draft law

The group is also making a draft of its proposed law that would replace the pork barrel.

The proposed law seeks to prohibit any legislator from demanding an allocation from the General Appropriations Act (GAA) or to make any insertions in the proposed national budget.

The President and Cabinet departments would also be barred from disposing of public funds that were not provided in or consistent with the GAA.

In addition, the President and the executive departments would not be allowed to give any member of Congress any allocation in the GAA or to make any insertions.

But the group’s proposed legislation would not curtail the role of Congress to exercise its power of appropriation and oversight.

Bishop Bastes

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes said a people’s initiative would do away with the PDAF.

“Yes [to a people’s initiative] because President Aquino and Congress are determined to keep it by many names,” Bastes said in a text message.

On Tuesday Puno urged leaders of the One Million People March Movement, which had launched various antipork barrel rallies, to lead a people’s initiative that would abolish the PDAF, stop the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and check the abuses of Congress in the exercise of its power over the purse.

President Aquino has rebuffed calls to scrap the newly created DAP, which allows the Department of Budget and Management to pool government savings and use them for other purposes.

“I think the pork barrel must be abolished by the law or by the Supreme Court [and] a people’s initiative is the last recourse,” said Malolos Bishop Jose Oliveros. “It has been the cause of corruption and patronage politics.”

For his part, former Caloocan Bishop Deogracias Iñiguez said he agreed with the former Chief Justice that the present pork barrel system must go “because it is a source of corruption.”

Brillantes said it would be better to use the initiative as an alternative once the high court ruled that the pork barrel was legal.

“If it’s constitutional then we have to come out with a law. If Congress does not want to come up with a law abolishing the PDAF and the DAP, it can be taken up in a people’s initiative,” he said.

The high court on Tuesday started oral arguments on the PDAF following widespread indignation over allegations that P10 billion in the PDAF went to bogus nongovernment organizations and to the pockets of lawmakers in schemes hatched by businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles.