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Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Roperos: The unpalatable ‘pork’
By Godofredo M. Roperos
Politics Also
Whoever wrote the letter that asked vehemently our lawmakers to give up their pork barrel must be thinking only that the whole amount of P40 million each in the 2005 budget would go directly to the legislators’ pocket.
It would certainly be anomalous, if that were so. But those knowledgeable about the “ways of the pork” would know there is no “packaged” standard usage of the pork that recipients have to follow in disbursing the amount. True, part of the amount may be wasted, but it depends on the beneficiaries.
Surely, the so-called Cebu Pork Barrel Vigilantes (CPBV)—if ever this group is not just a figment of the imagination of one or two deeply aggrieved men—would not behave like its local counterpart that has been gunning against petty criminals in the city, but would rather be selective and calculating. For what exactly the city vigilante killings had been in recent weeks, were rather rash and indiscriminate, indicating irrational act, as if the deeds were done without an intended purpose, except to kill and sow fear among petty lawbreakers.
Based on the proposed rationale and goal of the CPVB, it would seem the group is composed of educated men and/or women out to correct what they may consider as unfair to the tax-paying citizenry. For imagine some 200 members of the House getting P40 million each in pork—minus the P30 million they had voluntarily slashed in deference to the fiscal crisis the country is facing now. Plaace on top of this the P120 million each for the 24-member Senate, down from the P200 million which is their regular yearly amount.
Get the total bonanza for all the members of the two congressional chambers, and you come up with a definitely staggering amount that could dazzle the minds of those who would not know how each legislator normally spend the congressional money. Many, of course, would just conclude that a bigger slice of the amount would go directly to the pockets of the beneficiary-lawmaker to cover for the expenses during the last elections, or to be saved for the upcoming one. This, of course, is not true in many instances.
The practice of granting pork barrels to members of Congress is not a Filipino invention, of course. It is a practice our Congress aped from the United States. After all, our democracy itself, and form of government, is modeled after that of America, down to the electoral system and dispensation of favors and services to the constituents, including the pork barrel. The name has been derived from the actual barrel of pork American farmers used to keep for the winter months which they probably also shared with neighbors.
It became the name of funds congressmen gave to constituents to use on infrastructure projects for their respective county, or to fund community projects designed to improve the livelihood and way of life of inhabitants in a particular district. In the United States as in the Philippines, a congressional district is constituted based on population. And the strength of a district representative is only as good as his perceived performance and delivery of services to the people living in his district.
There was, for instance, the mother of a night high school student at Camp Lapulapu I met last Saturday in the school. Talking about the problems confronting the state of the school, particularly the state of disrepair of the classrooms and desk, she said that perhaps it is advisable to inform the congressman about it, and perhaps, he could get carpenters to do repairs during the summer vacation. She proudly said she believes their congressman would listen since he has always been sympathetic to the plight of school children.
Of course, how else would the people in Cebu City’s north district receive such kind of support from their district representative if there were no pork barrel funds? Perhaps, the CPBV, if it truly exists, should be selective, and undertake serious research.
This is not to justify, of course, the congressional practice of giving pork to the legislators. But I am just saying, depending upon how a lawmaker uses his allotment, the money grant could be either good or bad for his district, and his people.
(March 15, 2005 issue)
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