DAVAO CITY – The anti-poverty watchgroup Social Watch Philippines (SWP) suspected the move in Congress to insert pork barrel allocations was at the root of the controversial ouster of key allies of President Duterte from chairmanships of key committees in the House of Representatives.
The group expressed alarm that pork insertions, despite previous official censures, were “found to be comfortably snuggling somewhere in the ₱4.1-trillion 2020 national budget”.
“The prompt removal of two congressmen as chairmen of their respective powerful committees after raising questions about huge allocations to districts and projects of House Leaders proves that pork insertion remains the norm,” Social Watch said.
“They got the ire of no less than the House Speaker (Alan Peter Cayetano),” it added.
The SWP said Senator Panfilo Lacson revealed in December last year “last-minute insertions made by the House” in the bicameral report of the then-budget bill which ranged “anywhere between ₱16 billion to ₱83 billion”.
The group recalled that Davao City Third District Rep. Isidro Ungab earlier informed Duterte and Budget Secretary Wendel Avisado about alleged insertions in the 2020 budget. Oriental Mindoro First Dist. Rep. Paulino Salvador Leachon, on the other hand, showed to media proof of additional ₱6-billion budget for infrastructure projects for the Second Legislative District of Camarines Sur.
Ungab was the chairman of the powerful Committee on Appropriations while Leachon was the chairman of the House of Representatives Electoral Tribunal.
According to SWP, “while it is within Congress’ power to formulate revisions to the national budget, the list of modified programs or projects should be announced on the floor of both House of Representatives and the Senate”.
“No House member has come forward to own a list of submissions on the budget formally, however,” it said.
SWP noted that the Supreme Court has already declared the pork barrel as illegal, “yet it thrives and sadly, in more untransparent processes than ever”.
“Legislators continue to find ways to hide pork from the public eye. While both Houses of Congress are able to get around the Supreme Court ruling by ensuring that their pet projects appear as itemized line-item budgets rather than lump sum amounts in the General Appropriations Act,” the SWP said.
It said the “itemization happens as confidential submissions to the Committee on Appropriations subject to the approval of Congress leaders”. It said the lists should be made public, “put on record and debated on prior to the budget’s passage on second and third reading” and the new allocations justified “based on a particular district’s actual needs, not on the basis of how close a congressman is to the House leadership”.
The Hugpong sa Tawong Lungsod (HNP), the party platform of Ungab and which is headed by Presidential daughter, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, said removal of Ungab was an “insult and affront to the President, and not the party”.
“Nowhere in our first statement did we say that the removal of Cong. Isidro Ungab as chairperson of the Committee on Appropriations was an attack on HNP,” it said.
The HNP said Ungab was “specifically chosen” by Duterte as chairman of the committee and “the last time we checked, the President never ordered the removal of Ungab”.
“HNP does not want to spar with Cayetano. We want to sit and watch his show,” it said.