Accountability for the pork barrel

BELIEVE it or not, the pork barrel — P70 million for each congressional representative and P200 million for each senator — is intended, really, for a good cause.

That is hard to believe now because of the notoriety that the pork, or the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), has earned as the major source of corruption among our legislators.

The pork barrel is supposed to serve a specific purpose — to provide strategic funding assistance for infrastructure and other social and educational projects in the countryside as identified by senators and congressmen. These projects, otherwise not included in the program by the national agencies, get tagged as priority under the PDAF. The aim is to zero in on specific needs of the barangays, the grassroots communities that are overlooked or unable to attend to by the national government.

But the pork became a two-headed monster when the sponsoring legislators, in cahoots with the contractors and suppliers, were not made to account for the performance and delivery of the projects. For example, how many kilometers of inner roads have been built around the country using the PDAF that are so poor in quality that these fall apart as soon as they are constructed? The pocketed money would surely come to billions when all put together.

In fact, the pork barrel has proven to be such an easy money-making venture that it suddenly transformed legislation into a lucrative function in government. Before the pork barrel became the norm in the 1980s, only 30% of congressmen sought reelection. Today, political dynasties have mushroomed to protect their hold on the pork barrel intended for their districts.

With the entry of the new administration and all the talk about changes towards better governance, scrapping out or cutting down the pork has been put forward. But P.Noy, himself a congressman before, recognizes the importance of the PDAF as a tool for reaching out to the countryside. The pork will no doubt stay. But the mechanism with which the PDAF is used and reported should see some major improvements. P.Noy must exercise political will to make everyone accountable, from the disposition to the delivery.

Every centavo of those P70 and P200 millions should be reported to the people in a transparent and timely way. And if there is any amount missing or questionably high, there has to be a forum where our officials be made to explain or face the consequences of their corruption.

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