PEOPLE POWER VOLUNTEERS FOR REFORM- CARAGA REGION STATEMENT ON THE NAPOLES –PORK BARREL SCAM “Million March Against Pork Barrel” AUGUST 26, 2013 INVESTIGATE, PROSECUTE THE PERPETRATORS OF THE PORK BARREL SCAM: REFORM, AND RE-STRUCTURE THE UTILIZATION OF THE FUND, ENSURE TRANSPARENCY ACCOUNTABILITY AND ALLOW ONLY LEGITIMATE CSO AND NGOS TO PARTICIPATE We, the members of PPVR in the Caraga region strongly condemn the “ Napoles Pork Barrrel Scam “ as a classic example of “ ultimate corruption in government funds particularly the PDAF”. Clearly the revelations of the last three weeks through the media, specifically the Inquirer and Rappler shows that these actions of Napoles where done for the sole the purpose of amassing wealth for “ personal gain” in a web and network of individuals and government employees, LGUs, legislators and relatives and house help for a long period of at least 10 years. All the elements of corruption are present as well as a wide-range of corrupt practices, bribery, embezzlement, theft, abuse of discretion and mis-representation , all these actions are punishable under our laws. We , are appalled that the estimates that this operation has cost the Filipino people which is about P 10B pesos, money that should have gone to the development projects in various LGUs and congressional districts of several legislators. It is money taken away from the poor for project badly needed such as assistance to farmers, health and education. It is rubbing the poor. We believe that the PDAF and other government development projects are covered by existing COA rules and regulations as well as DBM menu of projects directed as ensuring the efficient utilization of the funds, and that it goes through RA 9184, or the Government Procurement Reform Act of 2003. As such to be able to execute such an operation Janet Napoles would not have acted alone. She must have developed and maintained a network of willing co-conspirators in some government agencies and LGUs and concerned legislators. She created a need where there was none or if there was she did not deliver, In fact, as reported, the need for assistance and beneficiaries where in fact “ ghosts”. We , welcome the investigation of the DOJ through the NBI and we look forward to the Senate Blue Ribbon Investigation as this will help reveal how this was allowed to take place and identify the loop holes and legal gaps existing. We believe that agency by agency, LGU by LGU and Legislator by Legislator concerned should be put to task to explain. We believe that the purpose for which the PDAF exists are still valid. Experience has shown that the PDAF has helped address program and projects needed by the people otherwise not addressed or included in the regular budget of national and local agencies of Local Development Plans, it is a source of additional funding for congressional districts and LGU and at times development agencies. However the problem has always been in the implementation and or execution. And, the problem has been there for many many years, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and several alternative media and centers had long reported on this, and if we conduct a review of COA reports for the last 20 years or so, we can have a more comprehensive data. We are deeply concerned by the generalization about CSOs and NGOs as being faulted for the Pork-Barrel Scam. This is totally unfair for legitimate CSOs and NGOs who have laboured for years to build a track record of integrity and credibility at the national and international level. Besides the questioned NGos are “ Napoles personal NGOs”, not the existing, legal and credible NGOs, why should we be punished ? We welcome the announcement of the President to suspend the implementation of the PDAF. Indeed tighter controls and guidelines should be instituted. A budget line item inclusion per district would be helpful, but in addition, the new mechanism should be more inclusive to allow the inclusion of project emanating from the Bottom-Up-Budget process initiated in 2012 and the Local Development Plans. These can be synergized. Finally, we call for the prosecution of all concerned. The full force of the law should be enforced. This is a major example of the president’s resolve towards the “ Daan matuwid” we promised the Filipino People. Mabuhay and Sambayanan Filipino! CONCEPCION ‘‘ CHIT “ ASIS Regional Chairperson PPVR Caraga Author, Citizen’s Primer Against Corruption Butuan City, August 26, 2013
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 02:29:36 +0000
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