Punchline
Transparency from our Congress Reps
By Ermin Garcia Jr.
AS our editorial points out, the province is entitled yearly to some P420 M in pork barrel funds courtesy of our congressmen! The pork barrel is meant to fund appointed ‘hard’ and ‘soft’ projects endorsed by congressmen for their districts. (It is not true that the pork funds are awarded directly to the congressmen in cash form).
Hence, beginning with the 15th Congress, our four congresswomen: Reps., Rachel Arenas (3rd), Gina de Venecia (4th), Kimi Cojuangco (5th), Marilyn Primicias Abas (6th), and two congressmen: Reps. Jess Celeste (1st) and Pol Bataoil (2nd), are now entitled to appoint projects for their respective districts from their individual P70 M pork allocation.
‘Soft’ projects are basically non-infrastructure projects like scholarship programs, medical assistance to indigent patients in government hospitals, livelihood support programs and the purchase of IT equipment. ‘Hard’ projects, on the other hand, are small infrastructure projects like roads, bridges, footbridges, pathways, multipurpose buildings, school buildings, potable water systems, flood control, drainage systems, irrigation facilities and electrification projects.
Their appointed projects are not among the scheduled projects for implementation by national agencies.
So between the annual and scheduled projects of the national government and the pork barrel releases for the projects of the congressmen (and senators) one easily wonders why life in the countryside remains in the dump.
For added, measure, one should add the pork barrel funds of the governor, board members, mayors, councilors and barangay captains! (Even the heads of Sangguniang Kabataan in all levels are already given budgets and the discretion to appoint projects).
Where, indeed, have all the pork barrel gone?
* * * * *
The pork barrel has been the major source of corruption among members of the House of Representatives (and yes, the Senate as well). And as contractors in the country would readily admit in whispers, the S.O.P. kickback to a sleazy congressman for pork projects has reached to as high as 40%, up from the normal 10% in the early 90s! (The 40% is usually derived from a combination of overpricing of materials and a cut in the contractors’ profits). The level of corruption in national projects is another story.
But assuming for the sake of sanity that our congress representatives will finally content themselves with just the normal 10% business commission paid out legitimately by businessmen to brokers and agents, our province can look forward to the delivery of P378 M worth of quality projects yearly. Certainly nothing to sneeze at.
And, if our new set of representatives, indeed, meant what they said during the campaign about their intent to deliver projects to uplift people’s lives (never mind that they didn’t promise to craft new laws to benefit the province), then their constituents have the right to demand of them more transparency in the handling of their pork barrel.
And this is where our local media associations can get into the act. They should give meaning to the death of the Freedom of Information bill in the hands of the congressmen by agreeing to jointly adopt as their annual project, the listing and reporting of all pork barrel projects of our 6 congress representatives at the end of the year. This way, Pangasinanses will know where their taxes went, and who didn’t lift a finger for their education and health!
There is one added benefit for such a listing – people can deduce from our congress representatives’ lifestyle who made a killing from their pork barrel funds.
* * * * *
WHY NOT A HISTORICAL COMMISSION? First, our sincerest congratulations to our columnist who loves playing with fire – Gonz Duque. I can’t think of anyone more suited to lead the task of documenting Pangasinan’s historical events that date back to the exploits of Limahong and Princess Urduja, through the American and Japanese occupation to post-war and contemporary events.
This is truly one meaningful legacy that Guv Spines and Gonz can leave us all.
I only wonder why Guv Spines decided that the creation of a special committee would do to accomplish such an important endeavor. Frankly, given the expected voluminous and endless work entailed by this long overdue academic undertaking, I don’t think the work can terminate in a year or in three years. I do know that for as long as research work continues, more facts, artifacts and events will reveal themselves over time.
My unsolicited suggestion to Guv Spines is for him to ensure the continuity of the work beyond his (and yes, including Gonz’s) time by asking the Sanggunian Panlalawigan to create and fund a permanent provincial historical commission that will continuously update the province’s history, and document contemporary history. Such documents will be the province’s jewels and, therefore, a body should be tasked the responsibility to see to it that the information and collected museum items are well preserved in sync with technology as it advances for future generations to appreciate. It’s a job for a permanent commission.
Since this idea is unsolicited, I might as well go and add the following for the SP’s consideration. Firstly, that the work of such a commission should encompass political, economic, social, religious and cultural events. Secondly, its members must have a prescribed tenure. No appointment should be deemed co-terminus with the incumbent governor because the work entailed is not political in nature.
And finally, that a sitting commission should be mandated only to approve data for inclusion in the province’s historical journal for events that took place 30 years prior. This should preempt tendencies of future incumbent political leaders to influence a commission’s decision on what and who should be included as significant historical events and personages. (Heaven forbid the inclusion of titles like “Hero of 2000, 2025, etc” appended to political leaders’ names who appointed them to the commission if it were allowed to decide on contemporary events).
Besides, I think ‘Commissioner Gonz’ has a better ring to it, instead of being hailed as “head of a special committee of the governor.” It takes too much print space to describe his designation. But levity aside, I believe the work is, indeed, reserved for a permanent commission, yes, to be led for the first time by a man who’s good at playing with fire. (The next one need not be good at it).
The sanggunian’s creation of such a commission can very well leave that as its own legacy for future bodies to contemplate.
Share your Comments or Reactions
Powered by Facebook Comments
