Senate urged to review P56.285-B ‘pork’ in 2015 budget

MANILA, Philippines - A budget watchdog is urging the Senate to review P56.285 billion in “PDAF-like funds” allegedly embedded in the proposed P2.606-trillion 2015 national budget.

PDAF stands for Priority Development Assistance Fund, which used to be the congressional pork barrel until November last year when the Supreme Court struck it down as unconstitutional.

The Senate started plenary debates on the proposed budget for next year last Tuesday.

In a presentation it made for senators on the eve of the debates, Social Watch claimed that pork barrel funds are still embedded in the budgets of at least six agencies.

It said the biggest PDAF-like allocation of P37.327 billion is with the Department of Public Works and Highways. Of that amount, P18.369 billion would be for “local infrastructure,” while the balance is in the form of lump sums.

Social Watch said the Department of Social Welfare and Development would get the second biggest allocation amounting to P13.311 billion.

That amount is broken down as P2.239 billion for assistance to victims of disasters and natural calamities, P4.849 billion for “protective services for families and individuals in especially difficult circumstances,” P4.602 billion for a sustainable livelihood program, and P1.622 billion for implementation of various programs/projects for local government units (LGU).

The Department of Labor and Employment, including the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), would receive P880 million for training for work/scholarship program, P613.573 million for training and livelihood projects for students, youths, disabled persons and rural workers, and P453.250 million for TESDA’s training centers, for a total of P1.947 billion.

Some P1.834 billion would be given to the Department of Health: P1.734 billion for assistance for indigent patients and P99.225 million for various programs/projects for LGUs.

The Commission on Higher Education would receive P1.866 billion for assistance, scholarships, incentives and grants to poor students.

Social Watch also asked senators to scrutinize more than P866 billion in “executive lump sum funds for 2015.”

That huge amount includes P389.86 billion in internal revenue allotments, which represent LGUs’ share from national taxes; P372.863 billion in interest payments on the national debt and P30.2 billion in employees’ retirement and life insurance premiums.

The budget watchdog also called for a review of unprogrammed funds amounting to P123.056 billion, including P53.9 billion for the government buyout-takeover of the breakdown-prone Metro Rail Transit 3, the rail line along Edsa.