2014/8/25
Malacanang: No pork barrel system in 2015 NEP
The Philippine Palace yesterday reiterated that the graft-ridden pork
barrel had been scrapped, while massive anti-pork protests were
confirmed to be held at Rizal Park in Manila on Monday.
“We disagree that the pork barrel system remains in the 2015 NEP
(National Expenditure Program) submitted by the administration to
Congress,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte was
quoted by the Inquirer as saying.
Last week, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) finally posted
details of the plan to spend P20.8 billion under the Grassroots
Participatory Budgeting Process (GPBP) on their website, after
receiving criticisms for listing some of the items” in the 2015
national expenditure program as “various projects,”
“projects to be determined,” or “projects to be
identified”.
Anti-pork groups were suspicious that the items were pork barrel
projects.
Abad on Thursday explained that the labels were applied to proposals
which initially did not qualify under the menu provided under the GPBP,
and were replaced after the proposed budget was submitted to Congress.
In a text message to the Inquirer, Abad said he could
“categorically” declare that the pork barrel no longer
existed in the present budgeting system.
Anti-pork groups, however, have conducted massive protests, and planned
on a sign-up drive for the People’s Initiative to abolish the
pork barrel system.