Solon pours pork on where he lives

APOSTOL . photo: NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

TACLOBAN CITY—Sergio Apostol Jr., who cried foul over moves to abolish the pork barrel and wondered aloud if road users’ taxes could take its place, has been generous with public funds from his pork.

Not to areas that don’t support him, however.

According to records of the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), Apostol, who holds a House seat representing the second district of Leyte, spent P19.8 million of public funds to dish out pork to his and his wife’s hometowns.

The DBM records showed that P19.8 million from Apostol’s pork went to the towns of Carigara and Barugo, including villages where the Apostols live. Four villages in Carigara, headed by officials that are not supporters of Apostol, got zero.

At least P13.6 million of public funds were spread to 12 towns in the second district and spent on projects that were credited to Apostol. At least P1.6 million went to  Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC).

The second district covers the towns of Burauen, Carigara, Capoocan, Barugo, Dagami, Dulag, Jaro, Julita, La Paz, Pastrana, McArthur, Mayorga, Tabon-Tabon and Tunga.

DBM records showed that P16.8 million went to Carigara, the hometown of Apostol’s wife, Trinidad, who took the place of her husband from 2001 to 2010 as representative. Trinidad had also been mayor of Carigara.

Apostol’s hometown got P3 million of the congressman’s pork, the DBM records showed.

Of the P16.8 million that went to Carigara, P13.5 million was spent on road-concreting projects in different villages, including an asphalt overlay project (now banned by President Aquino) in Barangay Jugaban, where the ancestral home of Trinidad is located.

Barangay Baruguhay Norte, where the Apostols live, received P200,000 also for road concreting.

Other projects funded by Apostol’s pork included rehabilitation and construction of several so-called multipurpose buildings (P2.20 million), flood control (P900,000) and water system (P200,000).

DBM records showed that only four of the 49 barangays in Carigara got zero pork from Apostol. These are Baybay, Binibihan, Candigahum and Canlampay. The villages are headed by officials who are not allies of the Apostols, according to sources.

Of the P3 million spent on Barugo, P1.6 million went to “social services” for 16 villages that received P100,000 each.

One of the recipients was Apostol’s village, Poblacion District IV, which also received P100,000 in Apostol’s pork for a road-concreting project.

The same amount of pork went to Barangay Can-isak also for road concreting. The rest of the 21 villages received P50,000 in public funds from Apostol’s pork.

The 16 villages of Barugo received P100,000 each while other villages in the second district got P50,000 each.

The village of Barugo also got P1.2 million for the repair of village multipurpose halls or the construction of new ones.

Apostol, a lawyer by profession, first served as congressman in 1992 to 2001. He ran for governor but lost to now Energy Secretary Carlos Jericho Petilla.

After he lost, then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Apostol as chair of the Philippine National Oil Company-Energy Development Corp. (PNOC-EDC), where he served from November 2005 until January 2007.

He also served as presidential legal adviser to Arroyo in 2006.

A daughter, Anlie, is serving a second term as provincial board member. Another daughter, Antoinette, ran for mayor of Carigara but was defeated by Eduardo Ong, a former councilor.