Senate leadership moves to stop PDAF allocation

MANILA, Philippines - Bowing to public pressure, the Senate majority bloc will be adopting a resolution next week to express the sense of the Senate to cease from availing, accessing and utilizing their pork barrel funds until stricter guidelines are implemented, Senate President Franklin Drilon said on Tuesday.

In a press statement, Drilon said the resolution is a collective decision of the senators in the majority coalition.

Several groups have been calling on lawmakers to abolish the use of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) more known as the pork barrel.

Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Chiz Escudero, Sonny Angara, Teofisto Guingona III and Antonio Trillanes IV are open to proposals to abolish the use of PDAF while Senators Gregorio Honasan, Nancy Binay and Koko Pimentel only bats for reforms.

Drilon said he will file the resolution as soon as the Senate resumes its session, which was suspended this past few days due to the cancellation of work in government offices due to strong rains.

“The majority senators’ decision to adopt the resolution is a manifestation of their interest in making the use of the PDAF more transparent and open for scrutiny of the public that will help prevent the abuses and inadequacies,” Drilon said.

Drilon said the move is consistent with the expressed desire of senators to effect reforms in the use of the pork barrel funds in order to prevent the preponderance of abuses and malpractices in the use of the PDAF.

Drilon said the majority senators agreed to let the Department of Budget and Management promulgate stricter and more effective implementing guidelines on the release of the PDAF and the determination of qualified projects under the PDAF menu as defined in the General Appropriations Act.

In view of the findings made by the Commission on Audit in its special audit report of the PDAF releases from 2007 to 2009, Drilon noted that there is an urgent and unmistakable need to institute reforms to improve the PDAF system.

Drilon expressed hope that the guidelines will provide appropriate safeguards and effective controls over the release of these public funds with the utmost transparency and accountability.

“The government must institute stricter guidelines on the utilization of the PDAF to avoid exposing substantial government funds to untoward risks and ensure that the PDAF is disburse only in favor of specific and effective pro-poor programs of the government,” he added.

Drilon cited some findings of the Commission on Audit in its special audit report, which he said needed to be addressed immediately by the Executive Branch through the DBM.

Among these are: 1) inadequacies in the monitoring of the releases of PDAF for priority projects identified by legislators; 2) lack of periodic assessment of the projects included in the PDAF menu; and 3) inadequacies in the release of the PDAF for projects without completed documentation and/or outside the aforementioned menu.

Drilon called for the abolition of the PDAF and expressed support to a proposal of Santiago to gradually decrease the allocation for PDAF. He also batted for stricter guidelines if PDAF is maintained.

Drilon suggested limiting the use of the PDAF to medical assistance to be coursed through directly to government and district hospitals, and to school building programs.