Stories tagged
‘pork barrel’

In the news

House opposition seeks caps on Arroyo’s spending habits

by Tita C. Valderama

UNDAUNTED by the resounding defeat recently of the fourth impeachment complaint against President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the opposition at the House of Representatives is embarking on another crusade that does not seem to stand a chance of winning, at least under the present administration.

The opposition now seeks to control the president’s wide discretion in disbursing public money, including the lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), derisively called ‘pork barrel,’ and other unspent amounts in the annual budget program.

Read more... | Posted Friday, December 12th, 2008

Legislators feed on pork

by Yvonne T. Chua and Booma B. Cruz

IN THEORY and in law, the legislators’ role in pork-barrel allocations remains limited to “consultation” to enable them to recommend priority projects. In practice, however, they have the final word on what projects should be funded.

The release of pork is based on the lawmakers’ request to the Department of Budget Management (DBM), detailing the nature and location of the project they want, the implementing agency, and the funds required. This setup makes legislators the lords of pork-barrel funds. It also makes them natural magnets to contractors and suppliers who offer bribes so they can sell their goods and services.

Read more... | Posted Tuesday, September 7th, 2004

Pork is a political, not a developmental tool

by Yvonne T. Chua and Booma B. Cruz

IN 2001, 108 congressmen gave P162 million of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) — considered as the “main” pork-barrel allocation — for medical assistance to their constituents through the Department of Health and various government hospitals. The Philippine General Hospital, the country’s biggest state hospital, received P30.8 million.

Read more... | Posted Monday, September 6th, 2004

By Category

Multimedia

By Year

By Tag

2004 elections 2007 elections 2009 SONA 2010 elections abra abs-cbn advertising AFP agrarian reform akbayan alberto agra ampatuans aniano desierto architecture armando sanchez ARMM arroyo midnight appointments Arroyo wealth ateneo de manila university ATIN basketball batangas bayani fernando benjamin abalos BIR blogging bohol bong pineda bulacan butch abad carlos garcia catholic church cebu celebrity politicians CESB charter change cheaper medicine chinese filipinos civil service commission climate change COA comelec conditional cash transfer program corazon aquino cory aquino cpp-npa-ndf customs danding cojuangco dbm democracy DENR department of energy diet dilg disaster recovery DOH DOJ DPWH dswd eddie villanueva edsa revolution education election automation energy estrada wealth extra-judicial killings ferdinand marcos fernando poe jr. fidel ramos focus on the filipino youth food freedom of information gilbert teodoro gloriagate gloria macapagal arroyo gma7 green energy healthcare hello garci house of representatives hunger IIRC illegal gambling illegal logging imelda marcos jamby madrigal jc delos reyes jesse robredo jojo binay jose de venecia joseph estrada journalism juan ponce enrile kris aquino laiban dam literacy literature loren legarda macho culture maguindanao maguindanao massacre manila manny villar marcopper marikina mar roxas merceditas gutierrez mike arroyo mike defensor MILF millennium development goals mindanao mining mount pulag music muslims mwss naga city namfrel neda ninoy aquino noynoy aquino NPA nutrition ODA office of the ombudsman OFWs ombudsman open budget survey pagcor party list pea-amari peace process philhealth philippines 2015 ping lacson plunder trial PNP political ads political dynasties poverty predictions press freedom prospero nograles reproductive health richard gordon rizal park hostage-taking incident rolando mendoza romulo neri rural health SALNs sandiganbayan san miguel senate simeon marcelo smartmatic smuggling special children special education sports supreme court taal lake television texting thailand the internet total information management university of the philippines urban poor virgilio garcillano visual artists waste disposal women's health world bank zambales