Tinio: Congress reps to get more than P60 million from 2019 national budget

Congressmen might be receiving more than the reported P60 million allocation from the P3.757 trillion 2019 national budget, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said on Wednesday.

But Tinio clarified that their independent group, the Makabayan bloc, did not receive and has never participated in the alleged “pork barrel” distribution.

“Una sa lahat, and for the nth time, ang Makabayan bloc ay hindi tumatanggap at hindi nag-a-access, hindi nagsa-submit ng mga pet projects para maipasok sa General Appropriations Act,” he said in a press conference.

“Actually tingin ko mali ‘yung information nya eh, hindi lang P60 million ‘yan mas malaki pa… I think kinuha lang ni Senator Lacson ‘yung figure nya sa P51 billion na nire-align ng bagong leadership ng House,” he added.

READ: House funnels P51.8B budget ‘insertion’ to health, agri, education

On Sunday, Senator Panfilo Lacson claimed House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had “distributed” P60 million worth of pork barrel funds to congressmen from the proposed national budget.

Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. confirmed that around P60 million would be given to House members and P200 million to senators, but he argued that this is legal and not pork barrel which had been declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013.

READ: Andaya: No pork in 2019 General Appropriations Bill

But Tinio maintained that these funds are pork.

While he lauded Lacson for exposing this, he said the senator should also look into the pork barrel of Senate members, which he said could be bigger.

“Hindi lang sa Kongreso, sa Senado may ganyan ding sistema. While it is laudable for Senator Lacson to call out the House… kailangan pagtuunan din ng pansin ‘yung pork barrel sa Senate… eh mas malaki pa nga,” Tinio said.

Minority Leader and Quezon 3rd District Rep. Danilo Suarez meanwhile defended the said funds and dismissed it as pork.

“Papaano naman nya makukuha yung wala na? Matagal nang sinabi ng SC na wala nang pork barrel,” Suarez said in a separate press briefing.

Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin, Jr. meanwhile confirmed that they have submitted requests for allocations for their projects. He even said he requested more than P60 million.

“Merong mga proposals kaming sina-submit, that’s true, dahil lamang kami ay may mga pangangailangan ng kanya-kanyang lugar,” Garbin said.

“You cannot call it pork barrel, we call it an initiative to address the needs of our constituents… Ang ni-request ko more than P60 million, hindi ko lang alam kung ilan ang na-approve,” he added.

Suarez also admitted he requested around P7 billion.

“Nag-request din ako P7 billion kasi anim na taon kaming di binigyan ni Pnoy (former President Benigno Aquino III), talagang naghahabol kami,” he told reporters.

Garbin, as well as Coop-Natcco Rep. Anthony Bravo, maintained that the said funds are not pork barrel or lumpsum appropriations made during post-enactment intervention usually used to fund lawmakers’ pet projects.

“Pagdating sa Senate may nababago. Is it pork barrel? We don’t see it as pork barrel. Pero bakit pag nangyayari sa House they see it as pork barrel?” Bravo asked.

“It is looking at the item of expenditure judiciously so that to ensure the people that they are going to be benefitted,” he added.  /muf

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