Aquino not keen on ‘pork’ chop

President Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III on Wednesday said he would rather work for the perfection of pork barrel disbursements than slash allocations for legislators as proposed by one of his allies in the House of Representatives. The pork barrel, formally known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), would benefit constituents in the provinces if used correctly, Aquino said at his first press conference in Malacañang. "Used correctly, it can be an equalizing fund distribution system. Pag inabuso like anything else na inabuso, hindi talaga okay yun (but it is not okay if it wrongly used, like all other things)," Aquino said. Aquino served as Tarlac congressman from 1998 to 2007 and was senator for three years before he won the presidency in the May 10 elections. A senator is entitled to P200 million in pork barrel funds each year, while a congressman is entitled to P70 million annually. Pork barrel allocations are perceived to be sources of corruption. Liberal Party spokesman and Quezon Rep. Lorenzo "Erin" Tanada III was quoted in reports as saying that one way to help address the P340-billion deficit is to cut pork barrel allocations by 35 to 57 percent. Aquino said that while he welcomes Tanada's suggestion, it would be best if the administration perfects the current system. "Kung kaya naman namin masabi sa kanila na yung kailangan ng constituencies niyo masisigurado naming made-deliver, kung may sistema namang mape-perfect yun, baka yun mas magandang ruta," he said. (If we can tell them to ensure that they'll deliver what their constituencies need, if there's a system we can perfect, maybe that's the better route.) Aquino vowed that, unlike in the previous administration, even opposition lawmakers can get their share of the pork barrel under his government. "Everybody is entitled to this and by everybody I mean particularly the constituencies. Nobody will be deprived." Aquino said his budget team is still studying how to spend the remaining 40 percent of the 2010 budget, and the possible budget for 2011. Cabinet members have already been instructed to submit a report of the current situation of their respective departments in two weeks to identify the spending status and what projects need to be retained or funded next year. - KBK, GMANews.TV