Grace Poe. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – Neopyhte Senator Grace Poe won’t avail of her P200 million Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) known as “pork barrel” funds in 2014.
In a letter dated November 7 to Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, chairman of the Senate finance committee, Poe requested that her PDAF allocation be scrapped and deducted from the proposed national budget for 2014.
“In response to your letter dated October 24, 2013, may I formally advise you of my decision to submit and recommend an amendment to House Bill 2630 (FY 2014 General Appropriation Bill) to be reflected in the appropriate committee report to effect the deletion of the entire aggregate amount of P200M of proposed/programmed allocation to my office under the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the consequent deduction of the same from the total budget to be submitted for final approval by the Senate of the Philippines,” Poe said in the letter, a copy of which was released to the media this Friday.
Aside from Poe, other senators also gave up their “pork” allocation for 2014 like Escudero, Senate President Franklin Drilon and Senator Aquilino” Koko” Pimentel III.
All four senators belong to the majority bloc in the Senate.
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