DBM submits to Senate list of priority projects

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Budget and Management (DBM) has submitted to the Senate a list of new projects, which will be prioritized in the second tranche of the allocation of congressional initiatives or the pork barrel for this year.

The second tranche of pork barrel translates to half of the annual pork barrel equivalent to P100 million each for senators and P35 million for about 230 plus members of the House of Representatives.

The amounts are just regular porok barrel. It is different from the remaining P 50 billion out of the total over P64 billion allocated by Congress for congressional initiatives and diverted from the portion of automatic appropriations for debt service for this year.

In a letter to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Budget Secretary Florencio Abad said that for the second semester, the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in the General Appropriations Act 2010 shall be allocated to education, health, social protection, and public infrastructure.

Abad said the total projects to be identified by the congressmen or party-list representative for the second semester shall not exceed P5 million for programs enumerated under education, health and social protection and the rest of the P20 million for infrastructure projects especially roads and bridges, flood control, hospitals and health facilities and public markets.

For senators, the P50 million is allocated for programs and projects for education, health and social protection while the remaining P50 million will be allocated for infrastructure projects.

The majority of the infrastructure projects listed will be under the Department of Public Works and Highways, the designated implementing agency.

“The proposed menu items all fall within the menu as provided in the 2010 GAA. The only difference is that the items in the President’s proposed menu are more focused and aligned with his priorities,” Abad said in his letter dated Aug. 24. “Therefore, we would appreciate if this menu can be adopted,” Abad said.

Senate Finance committee chairman Sen. Franklin Drilon, who like Abad is the President’s ally at the Liberal Party, was furnished the same letter.

Abad explained that the realignment of the funds may be allowed only once. Apparently to ensure transparency, Abad said in his letter that the DBM shall post on its website all releases and realignments of the PDAF.

In an interview, Drilon explained that the President and the DBM merely wanted to limit the projects to “hard” projects, and limit the opportunity for corruption in the use of the pork barrel.

Drilon noted that during the administration of former President Arroyo there was massive use of pork barrel on dredging activities as well as in the procurement of fertilizer which are difficult to track.

“It only means that the choice of the projects for the pork barrel is now limited to the menu that is indicated. Hindi na pu-puede yung dredging or mga fertilizer projects. In other words, proposed projects wherein corruption is very tempting as in the case of dredging because no body can measure how deep is the dredging. In fertilizer, you may not be able to audit it,” Drilon said.

The present Aquino administration wants to focus more infrastructure, Drilon said.

“It will be more on infrastructure, because here you can minimize the corruption because you can see the project. It doesn’t mean that corruption is completely eradicated, it only means that you limit the instances where there is an opportunity for corruption,” he added.

Drilon said the allocation was particular on the projects, not personalities.

Abad outlined the guidelines in the issuance of the Congressional initiatives.

In project identification, Abad said the projects and/or the designation shall conform to the priority list, standard, design prepared by each implementing agency. Furthermore, preference shall be given to projects located in the fourth and sixth class municipalities and limited to the indigents identified under the National Household Targeting System for poverty reduction of the DSWD.

When sought for comment, former Senate finance committee Sen. Edgardo Angara found the move of the DBM secretary as interfering with the pork barrel projects of the senators and congressmen.

Asked about the “new list of projects” in line with President Aquino’s priorities, Angara said: “It means that they are already telling us, where to put our pork barrel.”

Angara described the intervention of the Palace and the DBM as “hypocritical”, recalling who President Aquino, then as senator, criticized former President Arroyo for impounding the pork barrel allocations of opposition lawmakers.

“It would be hypocritical because Noynoy was denouncing that during the budget deliberations. He was denouncing it that Arroyo was impounding the pork barrel, is not releasing the PDAF as well as the congressional initiatives of the opposition. Kung ganoon ang ginagawa nila, whats the difference?,” Angara asked. –Christina M. Mendez (The Philippine Star)