May “pork barrel” pa rin sa kasalukuyang administrasyon at isa ang Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) sa mga ahensiya ng pamahalaan na nabiyayaan nito, ayon kay Senator Panfilo Lacson.
Sinabi niya na nabawi ng DPWH ang P8 billion pork na tinanggal nila sa General Appropriations Act of 2017 at nadagdagan pa ito ng P497 million mula sa calamity fund.
“Filipinos are made to believe that PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) is dead after the SC (Supreme Court) ruling in 2013. I am not stupid. Filipinos are not stupid. They are just resigned, I think. I believe our people, especially our taxpayers, should know the real score behind all these pretenses and denials about the existence of ‘pork’,” ani Lacson.
Pinilit ng Kamara na mailusot ang P8 billion sa nakaraang budget deliberation at inilaan ito sa Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), pero hinarang ng Senado sa pangunguna ni Lacson.
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Ayon sa senador, naibalik ang naturang budget at nadagdagan pa ito nang tapyasan ang pondo ng National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Fund o calamity fund.
Puna ni Lacson, isinakripisyo ang pondo ng kalamidad para mapagbigyan ang mga pulitiko.
“What is unfortunate is that with massive devastations brought by recent calamities starting with (typhoons) Yolanda, Karen, Lawin, Nina, to name some, most of the victims might be left to fend for themselves instead of getting sufficient assistance from the government. Yolanda for example still needs at least P100 billion to fully recover,” diin niya.
Sinabi naman ni Davao City Rep. Karlo Alexei Nograles na iginagalang nila ang paninindigan at pagdududa ni Lacson tungkol sa ipinasang P3.3 trillion national budget.
“I respect Sen. Lacson but obviously, he is grossly misinformed about this alleged “pork”. We were very meticulous when we crafted the budget on the basis of what was submitted by the president and made sure that there will be no room for post-enactment interference,” ayon kay Nograles.
Gayunman, binigyang-diin niya na ang 2017 National Budget ay sinuring mabuti ng Kamara, Senado at ng Bicameral Conference Committee, at niratipikahan ng dalawang kapulungan. (LEONEL M. ABASOLA at BERT DE GUZMAN)
