Ex-senator Angara calls for amended, more relevant constitution

Former Senator Edgardo Angara believes that changing the Constitution was “overdue,” citing what he described as “corrupting budgetary system” in the country.

“I’ve pointed this out time and again during our budget hearings — the system is rotten and needs to be changed. It requires a constitutional amendment, and it’s about time we took another look at the Constitution to address its infirmities and make it more relevant to the times,” Angara said in his new biography, titled “Edgardo J. Angara:  In the grand manner.”

READ:  Edgardo Angara’s biography tells a life ‘far from perfect’

“But every time you propose constitutional change, people go up in  arms, suspecting you of trying to prolong your term in office,’ he said.

Angara said, “Constitutional change is overdue.”

“We have this pathological fear of change. If you don’t change and innovate, you’re going to be dead. Innovation is the life of this digital age.  How can you be so progressive on the social and political issues  as well?” he asked.

“The market promotes competition to stimulate efficiency and minimize waste in the industry, but the market cannot take care of the rot in the political system.  Let’s bite the bullet,” Angara added.

In his book, the former senator talked  about the alleged misuse and  abuse of  government’s funds, particularly  the controversial Priority  Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) also known as “pork barrel” and the Disbursement Acceleration Program  (DAP).

READ: SC modifies ruling against DAP, partly grants gov’t MR

He pointed out that under the present Constitution, the heads of the three branches of  government — the President,  the Senate President and Speaker, and the Chief Justice — can  juggle funds within their departments in the guise of savings.

“The President can juggle the entire budget just by saying that’s not for acceleration, its for stimulus, so I’ll cut your savings and put it in one fund. And that’s one way of subverting the power of Congress because  he has usurped the  power of the  purse,”  said Angara.

If he had his way, Angara said he would  remove that kind  of authority and discretion. For better transparency, he said, every project should have a specific line item appropriation.

“We have a corrupting budgetary system that allows the President and other higher officials to have easy access to public funds. And this pork barrel syndrome has even permeated our city councils — in one  of our biggest cities, for example, the councilors enjoy a pork barrel like congressmen,”  he said.

“Without Constitutional change, you’ll never uproot those  diseases,”  he said.

Angara admitted that like most other legislators,  he also availed himself of the PDAF. But the former senator  denied any wrong doing “having been accused, without proof, of diverting some of his pork barrel to a bogus non-government organization.”

“The  pork barrel was introduced during the Cory administration. I must admit  that I was able to help so many people because of it. But I could also have written  the same landmark laws without it,”  he said.

He described  the “pork barrel” scam  allegedly perpetrated by detained businesswoman  Janet Lim-Napoles as “devastating.”

“The worst thing  is that everyone is involved — the Presidency, the Senate , the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, there’s been quite a successful  campaign to mask the ones who are truly at fault by painting everyone as guilty, then no one is guilty,” he said.

Angara said the budget process  was  also rife with opportunities for the abuse and misuse  of public funds.  The spending and budgeting  system itself, he said,  was a “corrupting  system.

“For the weak-willed, the temptation to misuse is too powerful. That’s why when the scandal over the pork barrel  broke out and I was asked what I thought  of it, I said we better give up. I didn’t even realize that it was being abused and  misused so cavalierly that brokers were receiving  fat commissions and so on,” he said.

“I didn’t even  know about the Disbursement  Acceleration  Program or DAP, a clever and  and grander way of subverting constitutional checks and balances, not unlike the way President  Gloria kept failing to pass the budget  on time during  the  calendar year, forcing a reenactment of the  previous year’s budget, and spend freely.”

He was referring to then President and now Pampanga Representative  Gloria-Macapagal-Arroyo. IDL

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