During a UniTeam campaign rally in Bataan last March 17, former presidential spokesperson and senatorial candidate Harry Roque told the audience that each senator receives P20 billion worth of projects annually. He went on to say that he if wins a seat in the Senate, he will allocate projects to Bataan.
At 1:52:11 mark in this video posted by the Facebook page 1Bataan, Roque is seen saying, “Hindi pa po tayo nakakatikim ng senador na taga-Bataan. At dahil d’yan, hindi pa natin alam na ang pondo ng isang senador sa mga proyekto, umaabot ng P20 billion. Bataan, gusto n’yo ba ng P20 billion o hindi?”
CLAIM:
Senators get P20 billion for pet projects, senatorial candidate Harry Roque claims
RATING:
FALSE
FACTS:
A cursory reading of the national budget documents would reveal that senators are not expressly given any allocation for discretionary programs or projects because the Supreme Court declared the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) unconstitutional back in 2013.
PDAF, commonly called “pork barrel,” figured in a long-drawn controversy involving legislators who allegedly misused and pocketed billions worth of funds through ghost projects implemented through various nefarious conduits, including bogus non-government organizations set up by controversial Janet Lim Napoles.
While the former presidential spokesperson, who is running under the ticket of former Sen. Ferdinand Marcos Jr., did not mention PDAF or the term “pork barrel” in his speech, it was clear that he was referring to the said controversial discretionary budget. What Roque failed to mention – or may have conveniently left out in his speech – is that it is illegal for senators to tap such funds for their pet projects. For Roque to promise P20 billion worth of projects for Bataan from a supposedly defunct budget system is suspect.
While it is erroneous to claim that each senator is allotted P20 billion for projects, the public has been largely left in the dark on what really happens on the ground. Despite the 2013 SC decision, several exposés have been brought to light in recent years proving that the pork barrel system still exists. There are various estimates on how much legislators still “realign” during congressional hearings to fund their pet projects. In 2019, no less than the chairperson of the House Committee on Appropriations, Camarines Sur Rep. Rolando Andaya Jr., bared that the Senate realigned a total of P83.6 billion in government funds, to allegedly finance new variants of the pork barrel system.
WHY IT MATTERS:
For decades, candidates running for office promise voters funding for projects in their localities in exchange for support. Yet, it should be stressed that implementing publicly funded projects is not part of the tasks of senators, as stipulated in the 1987 Constitution. While senators are indeed involved in the national budget process, claiming control over portions of the public coffers for their own pet projects have been known to lead to large-scale political corruption and tolerate well-entrenched patronage politics. -Rome Medina & Neil Dizon
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