News Release
August 23, 2013
The lines have been drawn between
the Filipino people and the Palace defenders of “pork”.
This was the statement made today by
the umbrella group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) in a press conference in
Quezon City as it announced plans to mobilize on August 26 as part of a
national day of outrage against corruption in government. The militant groups
are calling for the abolition of congressional and presidential pork, the
investigation and prosecution of all those involved in the PDAF scam, and the
rechanneling of pork barrel funds to social services.
“Monday’s protest will be an
important display of national solidarity against corruption. There is no
denying the overwhelming clamor of the people. On one hand we have a broad
range of forces demanding the scrapping of the pork barrel system, while on the
other hand, we have President Benigno Aquino III and his band of die-hard pork
defenders,” said Bayan secretary general Renato M. Reyes, Jr.
“Aquino has consistently advocated a
‘reformed’ pork thinking that this would quell public anger. That is not what
the people are demanding. Something as graft-ridden as the pork barrel system
cannot be reformed. Aquino, who also has his own presidential pork amounting to
at least P450 billion, wants to keep the pork barrel system and the corrupt
status quo,” Reyes added.
Bayan and its allied formations will
be having their assembly at the Liwasang Bonifacio at 9am before marching to
the Rizal Monument in Luneta. After the Luneta event, Bayan will lead a march
to Mendiola to protest Aquino’s refusal to scrap pork. Bayan chapters in the
different regions as well as abroad are also cooperating with other Filipino
groups for the anti-corruption protests.
“The issue has gone beyond just
Janet Napoles. The whole corrupt system is on trial here. It’s clear that the
government has been turned into one big business venture by politicians,
officials and private interest groups. The most severely affected by the
rampant corruption are again the marginalized sectors, such as workers and
peasants. The poor are used to justify pork projects which become sources of
corruption, thus further denying the poor public funds for government
services,” Reyes said.
“Workers, farmers, the unemployed,
the urban poor, the vendors, the transport sector, they have a huge stake in
the fight against systemic corruption,” he added.
Bayan will join youth groups in a
noise barrage this afternoon between 5-6pm at Liwasang Bonifacio in
Manila as a build-up activity for August 26. ###
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August 23, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 23, 2013
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Reference: Garry Martinez,
Chairperson, 0939-3914418
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