Extra P35-million ‘pork’ confirmed

President Arroyo’s allies in the House of Representatives received additional pork barrel funding of up to P35 million each last year, Majority Leader Prospero Nograles confirmed yesterday.

"But it is unfair to say that we got the money or we benefited from it personally. The funds are for our districts," he told a news conference.

Nograles was commenting on the revelation of Deputy Minority Leader Rolex Suplico that the President’s defenders during last year’s failed impeachment process received a "bonus" of an additional P35 million in pork barrel allocations from Mrs. Arroyo on top of their regular P40-million fund.

The majority leader said it is true that the regular allocation was only P40 million but that Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. had promised to work for additional releases if there were enough collections from the expanded value-added tax (EVAT) that Congress imposed last year.

"It turned out that there was a surplus from EVAT, and the additional pork barrel funds were taken from that surplus. Unlike the regular entitlements, the additional releases were made at the discretion of the President," he said.

He said it is possible that many of his colleagues received bigger pork barrel amounts.

"Kanya-kanyang lakaran yan. Kung masipag ka, mas marami kang makukuha (Each worked for his own. If you worked for it, you’d get more)," he added.

Suplico made the revelation about the additional bonanza that Mrs. Arroyo’s allies received to bolster the opposition’s claim that the administration moved heaven and earth to kill last year’s impeachment process.

Suplico and other opposition congressmen led by Minority Leader Francis Escudero have alleged that Malacañang offered additional pork barrel funds, appointments for relatives and friends, and other concessions to buy support from House members and entice pro-impeachment lawmakers to back out of the impeachment process or to disappear during the impeachment vote. Congressmen from one region succeeded in having the President remove a controversial military general from their area in exchange for their vote against the impeachment complaints. The general was transferred to another region but was later promoted.

A Mindanao congressman’s brother was appointed as a judge. A pro-impeachment lawmaker from Southern Tagalog was asked to turn his back on his colleagues in exchange for the promotion of his brother in a government agency, but the former politely turned down the offer.

Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay Jr. of the party-list group Alliance of Volunteer Educators had decided to sign the opposition’s impeachment complaint, claiming Mrs. Arroyo’s allies tried to dissuade him with an offer of millions in cash and additional pork barrel.

But Magsaysay later withdrew his signature from the complaint.

According to Escudero, Mrs. Arroyo is likely to do the same again to kill any new impeachment bid against her.

He said the President fears that given the mood of the Senate, she might be convicted and driven out of office if a complaint reaches senators.

Suplico said it would be "Christmas in July" again for Mrs. Arroyo’s allies if the opposition decides to file a new impeachment petition.