Why Aquino must get rid of ‘pork’

The stubborn refusal of the administration to heed the public’s persistent clamor for the total abolition of the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) makes one wonder why the wishes of the “bosses” are being taken for granted. Majority of them are poor, and this could be the reason they are being treated like beggars with mere “doles” from government, as if these were not their rightful share in their country’s much-talked-about improved economy.  Thus the refusal bolsters the perception that those funds were being used for purposes other than for development programs or for the benefit of the people, especially the poor.

Should the PDAF and DAP be discretionary in nature such that they lead to an irresistible temptation to promote political patronage or partisan ends—with no accountability to the public? These “facilities” have resulted in scandalous government anomalies like the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam and bribery of senator-judges for the conviction of Chief Justice Renato Corona in the impeachment trial.

Could it be that the reference to the poor as “bosses” is but mere rhetoric to patronize and/or deceive them?  President Aquino himself may not be a thief, but making excuses for the DAP makes him just as guilty as the actual raiders themselves—or even more.

I hope the President’s Oct. 30 special telecast message, which primarily dwelled on the constitutionality of the DAP, was not to preempt a Supreme Court ruling.

What could be the implied meaning behind his speech? The speech itself raised questions about its timing and propriety.

For his sake, someone has to advise P-Noy that time is fast ticking in the remaining two-and-a-half years of his term as president.  He has to clear his desk of any mess he himself may have allowed to pile up. He should let go of both the PDAF and  DAP.

Otherwise he would be like the hapless monkey in a well-loved Filipino folklore who foolishly held on to the coconut meat inside its shell while trying in vain to extricate his hand out of the shell through the small opening through which he slipped his hand into.

No amount of shrieking, jerking or jumping up and down will free the monkey from entanglement unless he decides to finally let go.

—ARMANDO LIBRANDO ALPAY,

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