Senators want pork released for relief work

MANILA, Philippines – Senators are asking the Arroyo administration to release their pork barrel and other funds that can be used to help victims of typhoon “Frank.”

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said he would like to specifically help Panay island because it contributes greatly to the country’s rice supply and he wants all his Priority Development Assistance Fund to be used to rehabilitate the area.

“I hope Malacañang is listening to me because I am now asking that Malacañang release my PDAF to the four provinces of Panay island,” Biazon said.

Sen. Pia Cayetano lamented that lawmakers from the opposition and those critical of the administration had not been receiving funds due them for almost three years now.

Senators Manuel Roxas II and Francis Escudero said there are other funds that Malacañang has not been releasing which could be helpful at this time.

Roxas said the Palace could tap the Presidential Social Fund collected from agencies such as the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. (Pagcor) and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) in helping the victims and their families.

According to Commission on Audit (COA) reports, the PSF bank account had a balance of P2.7 billion as of Dec. 31, 2007.

Forty percent of Pagcor proceeds go to the fund.

Escudero, meantime, identified at least P6.6-billion worth of funds which, if added to the calamity fund of P2 billion for this year, could aid more typhoon victims and repair damaged public infrastructure.

These funds, he said, are the P2-billion Kilos Asenso Fund; P3.6-billion Financial Subsidy to Local Government Units; and P1-billion Kalayaan Barangay Fund, which had not been earmarked for any particular area.

Escudero said local government leaders he talked to told him that they had yet to receive any allotment from Kilos Asenso or Kalayaan Barangay.

The P2-billion Kilos Asenso Fund is included in the P228.2-billion Allocations for Local Government Units (ALGU) item in the General Appropriations Act for 2008.

Also included in the ALGU is some P3.6 billion in “Financial Subsidy to LGUs,” which is designed to partly fund the premium contributions of local governments in the PhilHealth enrollment of their indigent constituents.

“This can be used to address public health challenges which arise from the calamity, including repair of hospitals, replenishment of medical stocks, and settlement of PhilHealth claims, usage which meets the congressional intent about this particular expenditure,” Escudero said.

The Kalayaan Barangay, on the other hand, forms part of the P51-billion budget of the Department of National Defense. To be implemented by the Armed Forces, the P1-bilion fund is intended for the development of dissident-threatened villages.

For his part, Sen. Ramon Revilla Jr. said he was disappointed over the apparent failure of the National Disaster Coordinating Council to equally distribute relief goods to the regions hit by typhoon Frank based on reports from local officials in these areas.