We share the outrage of most Filipinos over the P10-billion pork barrel scandal and all other abuses of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), the Malampaya Fund, funds released through the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) and other government funds. We strongly believe that all those involved in these misuse should be thoroughly investigated and speedily prosecuted.
We join the clamor for the scrapping of the PDAF and other pork barrel funds—lump-sum, nontransparent funds covered by vague disbursement guidelines that practically allow one or a few government officials wide discretion in the allocation of such funds and are thus susceptible to corruption and misuse.
We welcome the comprehensive report of the Commission on Audit on the 2007-2010 PDAF, and we ask that the investigation into PDAF disbursements and expenditures prior to 2007 and after 2010 be fast-tracked.
We also welcome the actions of the Aquino administration in response to the pork barrel scandals, including the scrapping of the PDAF and the filing of the first two cases against officials and other personalities involved in the “Napoles PDAF and Malampaya Fund scams,” and we urge the administration to continue the investigation and prosecution of cases involving the looting of public money, including those done in and after 2010.
We urge all Filipinos not to lose focus on these corruption cases. We should not allow those who wish to divert our attention from these cases by blaming the “system” or by claiming that all other government officials are also guilty.
Regarding the DAP, with the conflicting claims about its constitutionality, we welcome the filing of cases on this issue in the Supreme Court. It would be best to let the high court rule and settle this once and for all. We hasten to add, however, that we believe in the avowed purposes of the DAP: to fast-track the implementation of government projects and public spending to promote economic growth, and to support government programs and projects that are performing well.
We firmly believe in the integrity of President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad. Secretary Abad, as head of the Department of Budget and Management, has effectively put in place concrete governance reforms that, if continued, will impact far beyond this administration. These include specific practices such as the posting, on the DBM website, of information on the releases of lump-sum funds, including the PDAF, starting in late 2010; participatory budgeting of government agencies beginning in 2011; and the Bottom-Up Budgeting process which began in 2012. He has also ushered in best practices that curtail avenues for corruption such as consistent on-time passage of the national budget, transparency seals for national government agencies, and performance-informed budgeting.
We need people like President Aquino and Secretary Abad in government if we are to succeed in the battle against pork barrel funds and corruption.
—SIGNED BY FRANCISCO C. MABASO JR. AND 65 OTHER INDIVIDUALS, ALL OFFICERS/MEMBERS OF EITHER AN NGO, FOUNDATION OR CIVIC/RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATION, BUT NOT NECESSARILY IN BEHALF OF THEIR RESPECTIVE GROUPS