Back in the day, pork barrel — known by a variety of euphemisms like “Priority Development Assistance Fund” (PDAF) and most notorious of all, the so-called “Disbursement Acceleration Program” (DAP) — usually involved funds “allocated” by the Executive Branch to legislators. Nowadays we are seeing an even bigger perversion of this crooked accounting sleight of hand. Legislators are now mulling over delivering a similar sort of discretionary funding to the Office of the Vice President (OVP).
The additional funding being considered is enormous. CNN Philippines reports that legislators are considering jacking up the budget of the OVP to one billion pesos — up from just 679 million pesos. And what would this additional funding be used for? According to the same report her office aims to “reach more pandemic-hit Filipinos”.
The OVP previously launched programs which rolled out personal protective equipment, free shuttle services, and dormitories for health workers. It also purchased coronavirus test and extraction kits which were delivered to various private and state laboratories.
Robredo’s office also recently launched the “Bayanihanapbuhay” platform to help Filipinos look for job opportunities online. For its second leg, they will launch within the week another initiative to provide opportunities for those from the micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs which earlier benefited from her anti-poverty program Angat Buhay.
Who can argue with that bit of emotional blackmail, right? But if we stop to think about this even for a minute, we will find that these are activities that fall within the remits of existing government departments and agencies such as the Departments of Social Welfare and Development, Public Works and Highways, and Health among others. One wonders then why the OVP sees itself as obliged to do jobs that are the responsibilities of other offices; considering too that these respective agencies and departments possess the in-house experience, expertise, and specialist resources to do these jobs properly and at scales that allow procurement and use of these resources efficiently.
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The more important and more disturbing aspect of these sketchy budgetary wranglings is the track record of “vice president” Leni Robredo exhibits using such “services” she delivers to the public as platforms for engaging in partisan posturing and bolstering her public profile. Robredo, after all, is seen to be the “leader” of the Philippine Opposition and with national elections just around the corner, it is quite evident she is out for a bit of self-promotion on the state dime.
Leni Robredo has a track record of using ‘public service’ as a dishonest means to promote herself.
If it walks like pork barrel, quacks like pork barrel, and looks like pork barrel then, guess what: It very likely is pork barrel. The only difference is the gravy is flowing the other way this time — from the Legislative Branch to the Executive Branch contrary to tradition.
It is well and good that Robredo is using her office as a conduit for these “public services”. What is not clear, however, are her motives and agenda seeing that Robredo wastes no opportunity to make delivery of these “services” a big song-and-dance before the cameras of ABS-CBN, Rappler, and, of course the Inquirer. It is easy to see that this just does not make any sense as evident in the sophomoric logic her supporters use to justify these proposed budget allocations. Robredo ally Camarines Sur 3rd District Representative Gabriel Bordado reportedly asserted that “the OVP received the highest audit rating from the Commission on Audit in 2019” which, if one pauses to think about it, really has nothing to do with budget decisions. Bordado insists that the OVP “has been engaging in frontline activities against COVID-19. It has also launched livelihood, education, people empowerment, and other projects throughout the country, but its budget is still the smallest in the entire bureaucracy”. Another non-sequitur. None of the “activities” Bordado cites is part of the scope of work of the OVP.
One can only conclude that the requests for more money to be thrown into the OVP are motivated by dishonest and baldly political intentions. That’s just not right.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
There is only one motive of Lugaw Robredo, on trying to have a huge budget of the Office of the Vice President….she is interested to pocket most of the funds, to use it, for the next Presidential election…
If she does not win the Presidential election…she will be a rich woman; the same as those crooked and corrupt politicians; who become rich after retiring from politics.
She wants to take over, the President’s duties; and other government agencies duties; to sell herself to the voters, and to cover her being incompetent and and a fraud…
They should resolve first the controversy of the 2016 Vice Presidential HOCUS PCOS and SMARTSWITIK election…and bring back the crook, Former COMELEC Chief Andres Bautista, who is a TNT in America, enjoying his multiple bank accounts given by Aquino and the oligarchs…
Lugaw Robredo is just a puppet of the Oligarchs, who are the “puppeteers” of most politicians, and who are afraid of losing their hold on power on most of the politicians.
Let us not be deceived by her idiotic actions and political agenda !
Leni is the (F)VP. She is not a member of the Cabinet. She doesn’t occupy any other government positions, either. Her only function is to wait for PDuts to vacate his Office so she could replace him. And she is not even tasked to take over the government when PDuts goes out of the country or on leave. To have so much money to be likely unspent is a suspect. As far as attending to the public’s needs and helping fight COVID-19 which the government has been doing already, how and where would she use the money?
Pork barrel, because they can! Whos’s going to stop her? The other 99% politicians like herself?
COMELEC Hocus Pcos and Smartswitik, elected Lugaw Robredo, who is a thief…