BEHIND
THE SCENES
Alfred
P. Dizon
Kardo, our neighborhood drunken
philosopher has once again imposed on us his take on the monster called the pork
barrel -- the PDAF (priority assistance development fund) -- formerly called the Countryside Development
Fund among many other names.
Every
administration, he says, apparently has had its share of the monster. Despite
clamour for its death, it simply refuses to fade or go away.
He says, after all discussion on its
existence, he has simplified the matter and come up with a conclusion – the
monster should stay despite its unsavoury nature and even if P-Noy has
announced its abolition.
It is not that he is a masochist, anarchist
or one who wants this Banana Republic to crumble by having another Edsa, he
says. It is just that, according to what he calls his intelligent mind,entrusting
most development funds in the hands of the executive department – like bosses
of line agencies would be dangerous.
The fear that pretty soon, nobody
would be running for Congress because their favourite monster would be killed
or brought to other places for other officials to make use of, he says, is hogwash.
The approximately P100,000 monthly salary
of members of the Lower House, he adds, should be motivation enough to run,
considering other perks and bonuses that could run up to P500,000 a month.
He says congressmen or senators who
engage in anomalous acts could be directly stripped by the people of their
power through elections every after three or six years. Those in the executive
department, he adds, even if they are guilty as hell, could still hold on to
their seats by the skin of their teeth as in this Banana Republic, there is
still such a thing as due process.
By the time all judicial processes
are exhausted, the different forms of monsters, he adds, could be retired, dead
or abroad. Justice depends on how much money one has. Just observe what will
happen to Janet Naoples. he winks.
“So don’t give us the crap of daang matuwid,”
he says. “Every big-time or petty bureaucrat knows that in government, there is
money to be had – if one has the connections.”
Kardo says one doesn’t need to have
a college degree or a lofty education or position to understand what is
happening in government, So he says, he’d rather stay tipsy and leave the
thinking to the academics or so-called cause-oriented groups or concerned
individuals.
He takes a
swig of his Round Post, then says he has to look for his favourite
jueteng kubrador to place a bet.
So
now, we leave Kardo to drink in peace and talk about the contention of the
Global Filipino Nation and other groups who sniped at the President when he announced
the monster’s -- err pork barrel’s “abolition.” According to the groups, P-Noy
merely wanted to restructure the system – not to abolish it.
The groups
said P-Noy’s proposal effectively reduces the leverage of politicians, while
concentrating pork barrel power -- in effect, political power -- in his hands.
P-Noy’s
proposal, the GFN said, makes no reference to pork barrel funds under the
Office of the President and the performance of different initiatives in the
allotted funding.
The
President’s proposal, they said reiterates accountability that involves
government investigative and prosecutorial functions, which is presumed and
required of all pork barrel projects -- including all in his watch.
The
President’s proposal also reportedly requires details for future pork barrel
projects, implying that the Department of Budget and Management had no such
requirement in its budgeting process.
It also mandates
a new mechanism to ensure transparency, methodology, rationality and
corruption-insulation -- an admission that these elements were missing under
his stewardship, according to GFN.
P-Noy’s
proposed appointment of the Senate President and House Speaker to thresh out
specifics of the new mechanism -- a formula, they said, was fraught with conflicts
of interest and absence of checks and
balance.
The
President also wanted prohibition of "soft" project items -- ignoring
potentially high social returns from quick-gestation initiatives and relying on
benefits of long-gestation undertakings.
P’Noy, they
said, would like to eliminate non-government organizations from the delivery
system -- which, if vetted properly, are effective vehicles for faithful
implementation of projects and limits the pork barrel allocation to the area of
the sponsoring politician -- a continuation of the quasi-feudal and corrupting
influence of the dispensing powers.
The GFN demanded that P-Noy'spork
barrel be reckoned with in assessment of all items and should make a full
disclosure of details, implementation aspects and impact.
Among
others, the group demanded that P-Noy's management system should tightly and
regularly monitor the accountability mandates of all governmental units and require
DBM to adopt rigorous methods and criteria for vetting such projects.
The new pork
barrel system, the group said, should be inclusive to allow all parties, irrespective
of political affiliation, to make proposals.
It should also
be participatory and apply constituents' inputs in project proposal, appraisal,
implementation and performance assessment. It should be competitive -- with project
terms of reference scrutinized by the public and the award process visible in
real time to media and the public, they said.
The groups
also proposed appointment of a sectoral commission, composed of disinterested
professionals from the private and public sectors to thresh out details of the
new pork barrel system.
"Soft"
projects, they said,should continue and legitimate and NGOs with proven track
records or integrity should be utilized as implementation agencies or
collaborators for pork barrel projects.
Beneficiaries,
the group said, should not be limited to the area of the sponsoring politician,
but rather for optimum project benefits.
Lastly,
they said P-Noy's role should be limited to positive intentions, while leaving
details of the new pork barrel system in the hands of an independent commission
that includes the citizenry -- in the interest of promoting the greatest good
of the greatest number. That is the essence of good governance. Kardo would
have agreed.
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