Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines– Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel has decided to give up the P200 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) known as “pork barrel” funds allotted to him for 2014.
“Please be informed that in addition to foregoing the balance of P190 million, more or less, of the Priority Development Assistance Fund allocation for me for the year 2013, I am also not interested and hence not availing of any PDAF for the year 2014,” Pimentel said in a letter dated November 5 to Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, chairman of the Senate committee on finance.
“For this reason, I respectfully request that the amount of P200 million allocated as my PDAF be removed from the 2014 budget,” he added.
Pimentel was the third senator, who gave up his pork barrel funds next year.
Escudero said he and Senate President Franklin Drilon have also decided to scrap their PDAF from the proposed 2014 budget.
The senators have until November 11 to submit to Escudero’s committee their individual recommendations on how they would like to spend their PDAF after they failed to reach a consensus in a caucus whether or not to totally scrap the funds.
Each senator is allotted P200 million PDAF every year while congressmen received P70 million each.