PRIMER: The pork barrel system
Pagbabago! People's Movement for Change
September 2013
1. What is the pork barrel?
In general, the term pork barrel refers to government
appropriations used by politicians to fund pet projects
and programs for their personal political and
economic gain.
In the national budget, pork barrel funds usually
come in the form of discretionary, lump sum
appropriations that the president, senators and
congressmen allocate for their favored districts or
localities. Because of their discretionary and
amorphous nature, pork barrel funds are vulnerable
to corruption and abuse.
Presidential or executive pork barrel (partial list)
President's Social Fund - P2.4 billion
Malampaya Fund - P132 billion
Motor Vehicle Users Charge Fund - P12 billionw
Assistance to LGUs - P19.7 billion
School Building Program - P1 billion
Miscellaneous Personnel Benefits Fund - P80.7
billion
Unprogrammed Fund - P139.9 billion
International Commitments Fund - P4.8 billion
Calamity Fund - P7.5 billion
Contingent Fund - P1 billion
Empowerment Fund (Bottom Up Budgeting) P250 million
Intelligence and Confidential Funds - P500 million
Special accounts and discretionary funds in
various agencies - at least P96 billion
Congressional pork barrel a.k.a. Priority
Development Assistance Fund (PDAF)
P70 million per congressman
P200 million per senator
The pork barrel system in the national government is
replicated in the local government units such that
local executives and legislators are also given lump
sum allocations to be spent for their constituents at
their sole discretion. But this will not be covered in
this primer.
2. How did the pork barrel system develop?
Every year, the President proposes a national budget
to Congress for its approval. This is known as the
annual General Appropriations Act or GAA. Using their "power of the purse," congressmen and senators are
supposed to refine the President's proposed budget to make it more attuned to the needs of their
constituents and the nation as a whole. In reality, the budget deliberations are a venue for intense horse trading between the Executive and
Legislative branches. Congressmen and senators haggle for funds supposedly for projects in their districts
and constituencies. To facilitate the process and supposedly ensure equality in the allocation of funds, the
the Countrywide Development Fund (CDF) was established, later renamed the Priority Development
Assistance Fund (PDAF). Said fund is a fixed, lump sum amount allocated to every member of Congress to
be spent at their discretion.This is known as the congressional pork and is worth P25.3 billion in 2014.
But the biggest chunk of the pork goes to the President himself. The PDAF pales in comparison to the
discretionary, lump sum appropriations of the President, estimated to be anywhere from P500 billion to P1.3
trillion. From these appropriations the President allocates, often hidden from congressional oversight and
public scrutiny, funds for his favored projects, beneficiaries and politicians. From this "mother of all pork" also
comes the additional pork barrel given to members of Congress, on top of the PDAF. 3. How does the pork barrel system result in the plunder of public funds?
The P10 billion Napoles pork barrel scam illustrates how vulnerable the pork barrel system is to plunder and
abuse. Politicians and bureaucrats, from the President down to the baranggay kagawad, in cooperation with
crooks like Napoles who serve as brokers, operators and outright scammers, are able to skim billions a year
from the congressional and presidential pork barrel funds. The process starts with the president, congressman or senator nominating a pet project to the DBM for
funding from his pork barrel allocation. Once approved, they or their representatives are able to negotiate
with contractors, suppliers and beneficiaries on how to proceed with the project - from bidding, actual
construction or implementation down to identifying the list of individual beneficiaries. On top of the "SOP" kickback of 10% of contract cost, implementing agencies/officials and scammers like
Napoles may get anywhere from 10-50% in kickbacks. There are many ways to skin the cat - from
overpricing, use of substandard materials, non-completion, and ghost deliveries or fake implementation. In
the case of the P10 billion Napoles scam, funds for local government projects were allegedly channeled to
fake non-government organizations (NGOs) with manufactured lists of members, with as much as 60% of
project funds going back to the congressman or senator.
For the president, senators and congressmen, pork barrel funds allow for the easy use of public funds for
personal gain. 4. What is the role of the pork barrel system in
Philippine politics?
The ruling elites who lord it over Philippine politics
instituted the pork barrel system for the following
ends:
Fuel for patronage politics - Projects and
programs funded by the pork barrel are designed to
get the loyalty and support of a politician's
constituents and to bolster his/her political stock.
Discretion over these funds is left solely to the
politician so that he can use it for his self-serving
political agenda. Thus the common practice of
placing politicians’ pictures and names on
oversized billboards proclaiming certain
infrastructure projects and the denial of projects to
bailiwicks of political rivals. The tendency is for the politician to act as if the pork barrel were his personal
funds so that its beneficiaries become indebted solely to him.
Wellspring of corruption - The discretionary and amorphous nature of the pork barrel makes it especially
vulnerable to corruption. The legislator or executive official who decides on his own how the fund is spent
gets to dictate who the beneficiaries are and which contractor or supplier will bag the project. He also gets to
decide how kickbacks are to be distributed. Tool for Executive control over Congress - Because the release of the PDAF requires the approval of the
Executive through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), the President is able to use it as a
carrot and stick over senators and congressmen. For measures important to Malacanang, the threat of a
delay or disapproval of one's pork barrel allocation, or prospect of an early and smooth release, is enough to
convince legislators to vote a certain way. Thus, the pork barrel system distorts,undermines and contravenes
the entire system of checks and balances between the Executive and the Legislative branches, leading to
even greater connivance among the ruling elites.
In a nutshell, the pork barrel system plays a key
role in maintaining the bureaucrat capitalist mode
of government, where the ruling elites - composed
of big landlords, big corporations with their foreign
partners, political dynasties and power brokers are able to use government mechanisms and
resources to enrich and entrench themselves in
power at the expense of the ordinary citizen. 5. Can the pork barrel system be reformed?
The pork barrel system, by design, lends itself to
graft and corruption. It is a product of the unholy
alliance among the ruling elites in the Executive
and Congress for the aim of enriching and entrenching themselves in power. It has proven itself beyond
reform and should be abolished outright.
The Aquino government and its apologists would like to foster the illusion that new and stricter mechanisms
will stop the plunder. It is important to point out that menus and itemization of projects have been tried
before, to no effect. As long as senators, congressmen and the president are given pork barrel funds, to
mean lump sum amounts under their sole discretion, in whatever guise, they will always interfere with the
actual use of said funds and the plunder will not stop.
6. What does it mean to abolish the pork barrel
system?
The following steps are important for the abolition of the
pork barrel system:
1. Remove the congressional and presidential lump sum
appropriations from the GAA.
2. Rechannel the funds directly to agencies and list
projects and programs to be funded by said appropriations
as line budget items.
3. Reiterate in the GAA that line item budgets sourced
from the abolished pork barrel appropriations are too be
fully implemented and not subject to the discretion of the
President or any member of Congress. 4. Introduce stronger freedom of information provisions in
the GAA to ensure transparency and accountability in the
use of public funds.
7. What will it take to abolish the pork barrel system?
It is important to sustain and direct the widespread outrage
over the abuse of the pork barrel system into actual gains
for our people. Thus it is important both to demand the
investigation, prosecution and punishment of Janet
Napoles, the senators, congressmen and public officials
involved in the P10 billion pork barrel scam as well as those
implicated in the COA report of 2007-2009 and other COA
audits. Such legal actions must also cover pork barrel
releases under the administration of Pres. Noynoy Aquino. Equally important are the measures to decisively abolish
the pork barrel system itself, as outlined in the answers to
the previous questions.
Make no mistake, Malacaňang and Congress will fight tooth
and nail to retain the pork barrel system. But as experience
has taught us in the past, strong public opinion plus
sustained and concerted mass actions by citizens, both
organized and unorganized can lead to positive and
substantial reforms.# Please join the big anti-pork barrel system actions on
13 September 2013, 3-7pm Luneta and on September 21
(details to be announced).