Craft laws, not wallow in pork barrel
There have been recent reports on multimillion allocations for lawmakers. Obviously, these serve more the interests of congressmen than the welfare of their constituents. Not only do these funds offer opportunities for corruption, they become a tool for any self-serving autocratic leadership to lure a supposedly independent Congress into embracing political patronage, wielding the “tyranny of numbers” at the expense of the truth—and the electorate they have sworn to serve. Thus, our “honorable” congressmen would continue to justify, even fight for, their pork allocations, saying these are needed for “countryside development” or for the “good” of their districts.
If only the millions or billions of taxpayer money at their disposal for so long a time now have been judiciously spent solely on important projects such as housing for the poor, well-equipped and staffed classrooms and medical centers, farm-to-market roads, etc., our countryside would have been truly developed, and the lives of these lawmakers’ constituents less miserable.
Why do vital government programs get insufficient or “reduced” funding, while billions of pork barrel money or dubious budget “insertions” seem to go unabated, and corruption remains unchecked?
This leaves this ordinary taxpayer wondering whether it’s a hopeless prayer for our “respectable” legislators to have the heart to finally rid themselves of the greed for power and ill-gotten wealth. After all, their constitutional mandate is mainly to craft laws that uplift the plight of our people, not to handle or mishandle public funds for personal aggrandizement.
MANUEL A. COLLAO
