Senate bill seeks to criminalize naming of govt projects after officials

No government project may be named after any public official, if the bill filed by Senator Francis Escudero is passed into law. Senate Bill No. 2187 seeks to criminalize the practice of naming government projects after public officials and persons associated with them. Escudero said naming projects such as waiting sheds, ambulances and even trash bins after politicians “falsely gives an inflated sense of accomplishment to public officials to their constituency." He said nobody should lay claim on public funds and freely spend it for their “personal and political vanity." “Filipinos have entrusted their money to the government by way of taxes. It is the people’s money not the public officials'. Laying personal claim to it should be deemed criminal," he said. Under the proposed measure, violators shall be punished with one-year imprisonment and a fine of P100,000 to P1 million depending on the amount of the government project concerned. The bill, however, says that the National Historical Commission of the Philippines may exempt projects depending on its guidelines or regulations. - Kimberly Jane Tan/KBK, GMANews.TV