Palace denies withholding opposition lawmakers' 'pork'

MALACANANG defended on Monday Budget Secretary Florencio Abad against criticisms from opposition lawmakers who were supposedly deprived of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or "pork barrel" funds.

"I have talked to Secretary Abad about the issue. He did not say that lawmakers who are not allies of the administration will not get their PDAF," Lacierda said.

"In fact, many opposition lawmakers received their PDAF. So the news was not true," he added.

Zambales Representative Mitos Magsaysay, a staunch critic of the Aquino administration, has called for Abad's resignation after he allegedly said withholding pork barrel funds of opposition lawmakers is just "part of politics."

Magsaysay said she has not received a single centavo from her annual P70-million PDAF in the last two years.

Abad allegedly said that Magsaysay will still not get her PDAF until 2013 together with Representatives Diosdado Arroyo (Camarines Sur), Augusto Syjuco Jr. (Iloilo) and Juan Miguel Arroyo (Ang Galing Pinoy party-list).

Magsaysay said PDAF allocation for each district has already been identified under the approved General Appropriations Act thus what Abad was doing was "against the law."

She also called Abad's statement as "power tripping and bullying."

Abad earlier denied that the districts of the opposition lawmakers are being deprived of pork barrel funds. (Jill Beltran/Sunnex)