One of the latest issues nowadays in the Philippine Government is the issue of Pork Barrel Scam. First and foremost, to define the meaning of Pork Barrel – it is the appropriation of government spending for localized projects secured solely or primarily to bring money to a representative's district. Typically, "pork" involves funding for government programs whose economic or service benefits are concentrated in a particular area but whose costs are spread among all taxpayers. Public works projects, certain national defense spending projects, and agricultural subsidies are the most commonly cited examples. Here In the Philippines, the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), better known as “Pork Barrel”, is a regular allocation of public funds to members of the Philippine Congress. It’s designed to give legislators easy access to capital so that they can earmark projects for improving their respective constituencies. At the same time, Pork Barrel is a frequent target for critics who says it facilitates corruption. They say it makes it easier for politicians to divert money into their own pockets, and perpetuates the patronage politics that has kept the Philippines from progressing. There are those who treat the PDAF as their own private fund, to use as they please. This is clearly wrong: What is involved here is the people’s money; it should be used for the benefit of the people, and not for the benefit of a few greedy individuals.
Today in 2013, outrage over the ₱10 B Priority Development Assistance Fund scam involving Janet Lim-Napoles, Senators and Congressmen led to widespread calls for abolition of the PDAF system. This also includes the pork barrel funds of the President that amounts to several billions of pesos. The Million People March which occurred on National Heroes' Day in the Philippines (August 26) called for the end of "pork barrel" and was joined by simultaneous protests nationwide and by the Filipino diaspora around the world.
Different organizations were calling for an abolition of the Pork Barrel in the Philippines for the reason that individual official is handling the fund. Did they ever ask themselves what would be the alternative way of this problem since it is almost a hundred percent possibility that specific people or agency in the government will also be handling the fund. It seems to be like they will just change the name but the procedure is the same. If the Pork Barrel will be abolished where will the poor and less privileged ask for help to ease their plight? The poor folks have to go to the offices of the senators and congressmen to beg and seek financial assistance for medicines, shelter, food, or payment for tuition or even for burial expenses. And do these lawmakers help these people in dire financial needs out of the kindness of their hearts and from their own pockets? We, it’s to impossible nowadays. It is also very hard to ask help to the government. In its purest objective, the pork-barrel funds are the great equalizer of wealth as they seek to redistribute national income down to the poorest of the poor. Why punish the poor just because some unscrupulous people in and out of the government connive with corrupt politicians to line their own pockets with pork-barrel funds?
Generally, as the bible says “Money is the root of all evil” and that’s happening to us. This scandalous pork barrel issue is history in the making. It is a problem and it is bigger than what it seems. Imagine how many senators, congressmen and government agencies are allegedly involved in it? How can they have processed the projects without knowing that they gave our money to a fake NGO that didn’t even deliver? This kind of issue is very alarming especially to our next generation. It seems like we are planting a reason for our country to give up from having such a lot of issues concerning people and the government. This issue is indeed the breaking down of the Philippines’ moral fiber as a Christian nation. It is indeed good to have a pork barrel or budgetary allocation but not in a sense of a “ghost projects, corruptions and etc…” Why not implement a transparent "budgetary process" imposing stricter guidelines to ensure that it will go to the intended beneficiaries and not to bogus non-government organizations and other groups. On the pork barrel mess, there should be thorough investigations to ferret out the truth and determine the culpability of those tagged in the scam. Charges should be filed against them. It has to make sure the stricter guidelines on the distribution of funds from the pork barrel should be strongly adhered to and properly implemented. Strict implementation should be followed…
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