In 1986 at EDSA, the first people power revolt ended 21 years of a government so dark and so opaque, and ushered in one of light and transparency. The strongman Ferdinand E. Marcos was vanquished and democracy icon Corazon C. Aquino came to power.

FELICIANO MENDOZA was enjoying semi-retirement in his hometown of San Rafael, Bulacan last September when he received a letter that jolted him from his life of relative calm.

DON’T GET mad. Sue. That’s what Feliciano Mendoza and three of his fellow former barangay captains decided to do after they said they found out their signatures had been forged for a pork-barrel project way back in 2007.

A NUMBER of local government units (LGUs) have joined the pork-barrel bandwagon and launched slush funds for their councilors. The funds usually come from the Local Development Fund (LDF) that is equivalent to 20 percent of the internal revenue allotment (IRA) that all LGUs collect from national government, based on their population size and capacity to collect taxes.