Drilon says pork barrel no longer exists

Contrary to the claims of some sectors, the pork barrel system no longer exists, Senate President Franklin Drilon said yesterday.

Speaking at the opening of the third regular session of Congress yesterday, Drilon said the proposed 2016 national budget would be carefully scrutinized but passed on time so the government would not operate on a reenacted budget.

“If you recall, because of the reenacted budget, the previous administration converted the entire GAA into a single lump sum appropriation,” he said. “We assure our people that the pork barrel system is a thing of the past.”

Former senator Panfilo Lacson and Sen. Sergio Osmeña III have claimed that the 2015 national budget still contains pork barrel-like lump sum funds lodged in some agencies.

At least P424 billion in lump sum funds are in the P2.606-- trillion national budget for 2015, and that lawmakers continue to identify where these funds should go as far as projects being implemented by the agency are concerned, he added.

However, Drilon said the pork barrel system that the Supreme Court had declared unconstitutional no longer exists in the national budget.

Lump sum funds were in the national budget, but these were not in any way pork barrel funds that lawmakers can touch, he added.

Drilon gave as an example the Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund (MPBF), which represents the budget intended to finance the personnel requirements of various government agencies, specifically items that have not yet been filled.

The funds would only be released to agencies concerned once they have available people to fill the vacant positions, he added.

Drilon said the MPBF would necessarily have to be lump sum funds since there is no way of knowing when the actual hiring would take place.

What is important is that the ruling of the Supreme Court is followed, particularly the prohibition on post-enactment intervention by lawmakers, he added.

Drilon laid out in his speech the accomplishments of the Senate in the past years, including the reforms needed to improve the economy, create a stable political environment and improve social infrastructure.

“We achieved our legislative agenda because we worked closely with our partners in the House of Representatives, meeting the House leadership on a regular monthly basis,” he said.