Lawmakers to question ‘pork’ cuts before SC

MANILA, Philippines — A group of lawmakers vowed yesterday to question the reduction the House of Representatives is reportedly effecting in so-called pork barrel fund allocations for their districts.

“We will challenge the reductions before the Supreme Court because we believe they are constitutionally questionable,” one of the lawmakers said yesterday.

The source did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal.

He said the funds being taken away and given to allegedly favorite House members are for projects identified and proposed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) for their districts.

“In other words, these are regular infrastructure projects that were included in President Duterte’s budget proposal as part of the DPWH funding. The House, Senate and bicameral conference committee on the budget approved these projects. We ratified the bicameral report containing the final version of the budget on Feb. 8,” he said.

He pointed out that it is questionable for the House to change what the two chambers and the conference committee had approved without reversing the approval process that had already taken place.

“We will thus file our own petition or join Sen. (Panfilo) Lacson in questioning what the House is doing after the final version of the budget has been adopted,” he added.

Lacson exposed the alleged reductions in a statement posted on his website last Friday.

The House member who did not want to be named said representatives who are losing district funds are those identified with former speaker Pantaleon Alvarez and former majority leader Rodolfo Fariñas as well as lawmakers belonging to the opposition and certain party-list groups. – With Cecille Suerte Felipe