Budget Secretary Bejamin Diokno. CDN FILE PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA
Budget Secretary Benjamin Diokno on Monday clarified that the P80 million worth of projects for each allied representative is allowed in the budget, refuting claims the pork barrel is back in the proposed P3.35 trillion appropriations act.
During the Development Budget Coordinating Committee meeting at the House of Representatives, Diokno was asked by Kabataan Rep. Sarah Elago if the submission of each representatives of their list of projects worth P80 million is a form of pork barrel, the defunct congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scrapped by the Supreme Court at the height of a scam.
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“This representation notes that the DBM has said legislators are not prohibited from proposing to the head of the agencies programs, activities or projects which his or her constituents brought to his or her attention to be financed by the national government. Which such move can be legal, it still smacks of political maneuvering,” Elago said.
Diokno said in the previous budget proposals going back to martial law, it has been a practice for lawmakers to ask the department heads to include the lawmakers’ pet projects in the agency budgets.
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“I think I can say this in authority. I’m the oldest here, I’ve seen this budget before martial law. It’s been a practice legislators will go to the department secretaries and ask for the budget,” Diokno said.
He said the National Expenditure Programs spans several volumes because it was itemized into specific projects, programs and activities to comply with the Supreme Court decision scrapping the PDAF and prohibiting the post-enactment mechanism of using the lump sum PDAF for pet projects of favored lawmakers.
“The budget itself is full of details. That’s why it’s three volumes. To make sure there’s no corruption, I will electronically tag every project so that we can monitor whether this project is being done or not,” Diokno said. JE