Tribune Online - Consequences

Daang Matuwid Exposed by Pork

Inbox

x

Written by  Ninez Cacho-Olivares
Thursday, 12 September 2013 08:00
Tribune Online

 

Pork barrel releases of the lawmakers in Congress for 2013, along with the Malampaya funds — when the spending of these funds has no relation to energy projects — have been stopped by the Supreme Court (SC) through a temporary restraining order (TRO).

 

The court said the remaining pork of the lawmakers is frozen until such time that oral arguments are held sometime in October, and presumably when the SC rules on this issue.

 

It will be recalled, however, that the congressional pork releases were already ordered stopped by Noynoy, which means, following the TRO, that the congressional Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) may not be released for the full year of 2013, in the case of other congressmen and senators who were not given their pork barrel share in the first tranche — nor, for that matter, can Noynoy release the Malampaya funds for other purposes while the TRO is in place.

 

The question now is this: Without the release of the congressional pork barrel to the selected members of Congress, which means the allies of Noynoy — especially in the House of Representatives, how then can Noynoy control Congress, whether it be the passage of the 2014 national budget, or several legislative measures he wants passed by Congress?

 

The solution of course would be for Noynoy to still be releasing the pork, but now to be taken from his P1-trillion pork barrel in lump sums that will be given to the select members of the Senate and the House, for him to retain his control over the budget.

 

Noynoy can’t just tell his congressmen that their districts will be covered through the executive branch, such as through agencies like the Department of Public Works and Highways for roads, among others. That is still part of the second tranche of their pork barrel. But that’s for the so-called hard projects. As for the so-called soft projects of congressmen, whatever the price of their pork for soft projects would have to be in cash given to the selected members of Congress, especially the allies, since non-government organizations (NGOs) are already banned from the pork barrel.

 

Noynoy will now have to account for the the congressional pork barrel. After all, if he has been stopped by the High Court from releasing the pork barrel, it stands to reason that even the so-called hard projects of the congressmen and senators have to stop too, since the order of the SC is to stop all releases of the remaining congressional pork barrel and if the SC rules that the pork is unconstitutional, then Noynoy will be in a lot of trouble with Congress.

 

Noynoy cannot include any amount of the lawmakers’ pork for the so-called hard projects, because if he does, then he is wilfully violating the law, and ignoring the SC, which is the sole interpreter of the law, in which case, he can be impeached. And we all know that without the congressmen getting any slice of the pork or Noynoy’s corrupt bribes to them, an impeachment of Noynoy can proceed.

 

After all, why should they keep on supporting a president and his administration if they get nothing in return?
If Noynoy as much as releases, in any form or style, of the congressional pork to the members of Congress, he has to now be held responsible for his defiance of the SC’s TRO.

 

And if he as much as gives the congressmen their pork, in cash, to take the place of their soft projects from a different presidential lump sum pork allocation, eventually, this will be known, since not all — especially those members of Congress whom Noynoy perceives as his foes — are not given their share of the presidential pork in cash.

 

Truth is, Noynoy is now between a rock and a hard place. With the SC ordering the stoppage of the congressional pork barrel, the public’s anger against the lawmakers, which Noynoy and his Liberal Party (LP) mates fanned, would have to wane eventually, but not so with his own presidential pork barrel, if he doesn’t give it up, that is for sure.

 

After all, if the SC can put a stop to the release of the congressional pork barrel, why not the presidential pork barrel, along with the usual lump sum pork barrels amounting to P1 trillion, which is never audited by his coopted Commission on Audit?

 

Public ire will now be focused solely on him and the demand will be for him to also give up his pork, as well as his lump sum budgets.

 

Noynoy and his LPs wanted to destroy the reputations of senators and congressmen whom they see as either threats or political foes, but they ended up destroying themselves.

 

Already, his daang matuwid mantra has been destroyed. Nobody believes it at all. Now they know his is a crooked presidency and administration.#