Congressmen might be receiving more than the reported P60 million allocation from the P3.757 trillion 2019 national budget, ACT Teachers Rep. Antonio Tinio said on Wednesday.
But Tinio clarified that their independent group, the Makabayan bloc, did not receive and has never participated in the alleged 鈥減ork barrel鈥� distribution.
鈥淯na sa lahat, and for the nth time, ang Makabayan bloc ay hindi tumatanggap at hindi nag-a-access, hindi nagsa-submit ng mga pet projects para maipasok sa General Appropriations Act,鈥� he said in a press conference.
鈥淎ctually tingin ko mali 鈥榶ung information nya eh, hindi lang P60 million 鈥榶an mas malaki pa鈥� I think kinuha lang ni Senator Lacson 鈥榶ung figure nya sa P51 billion na nire-align ng bagong leadership ng House,鈥� he added.
搁贰础顿:听House聽funnels聽P51.8B budget 鈥榠nsertion鈥� to health, agri, education
On Sunday, Senator Panfilo Lacson claimed House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo had 鈥渄istributed鈥� P60 million worth of pork barrel funds to congressmen from the proposed national budget.
Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr. confirmed that around P60 million would be given to House members and P200 million to senators, but he argued that this is legal and not pork barrel which had been declared as unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2013.
搁贰础顿:听Andaya: No pork in 2019 General Appropriations Bill
But Tinio maintained that these funds are pork.
While he lauded Lacson for exposing this, he said the senator should also look into the pork barrel of Senate members, which he said could be bigger.
鈥淗indi lang sa Kongreso, sa Senado may ganyan ding sistema. While it is laudable for Senator Lacson to call out the House鈥� kailangan pagtuunan聽din ng pansin 鈥榶ung pork barrel sa Senate鈥� eh mas malaki pa nga,鈥� Tinio said.
Minority Leader and Quezon 3rd District Rep. Danilo Suarez meanwhile defended the said funds and dismissed it as pork.
鈥淧apaano naman nya makukuha yung wala na? Matagal nang sinabi ng SC na wala nang pork barrel,鈥� Suarez said in a separate press briefing.
Ako Bicol Rep. Alfredo Garbin, Jr. meanwhile confirmed that they have submitted requests for allocations for their projects. He even said he requested more than P60 million.
鈥淢erong mga proposals kaming sina-submit, that鈥檚 true, dahil lamang kami ay may mga pangangailangan ng kanya-kanyang lugar,鈥� Garbin said.
鈥淵ou cannot call it pork barrel, we call it an initiative to address the needs of our constituents鈥� Ang ni-request ko more than P60 million, hindi ko lang alam kung ilan聽ang na-approve,鈥� he added.
Suarez also admitted he requested around P7 billion.
鈥淣ag-request din ako P7 billion kasi anim na taon kaming di binigyan ni Pnoy (former President Benigno Aquino III), talagang naghahabol kami,鈥� he told reporters.
Garbin, as well as Coop-Natcco Rep. Anthony Bravo, maintained that the said funds are not pork barrel or lumpsum appropriations made during post-enactment intervention usually used to fund lawmakers鈥� pet projects.
鈥淧agdating sa Senate may nababago. Is it pork barrel? We don鈥檛 see it as pork barrel. Pero bakit pag nangyayari sa House they see it as pork barrel?鈥� Bravo asked.
鈥淚t is looking at the item of expenditure judiciously so that to ensure the people that they are going to be benefitted,鈥� he added.聽 /muf
搁贰础顿:听A House leadership-Duterte 鈥榗ollusion鈥� for 2019 鈥榬eenacted鈥� budget?