Philippines’ ‘Pork Barrel’ Graft Probe Has Lawmakers Squealing
Public protests against rampant culture of political corruption are gathering momentum
The Philippines' student groups stage a protest against the misuse of the country's state funds in Manila on Aug. 26, 2013
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The Philippines and corruption go together like pork and mustard.
But a fresh inquiry into the country’s so-called pork-barrel culture has
produced some of the largest popular protests to hit the nation in
years, and they show no signs of abating. Up to 100,000 people took to
the Manila’s Rizal Park to protest on Aug. 26 with further marches
slated for Wednesday and Friday.
Pork barrel is a pejorative term for Priority Development
Assistance Funds — discretionary annual lump sums of $4.5 million and
$1.6 million provided respectively to each of the country’s 24 Senators
and 289 Congressmen to pay for local infrastructure and development
works. However, much of this cash is simply ferreted away through bogus
NGOs and nonsensical initiatives (like $115,000 for “antidengue inoculants”
although no dengue-fever vaccine is currently available). In addition,
the cash is treated as a slush fund for ensuring political patronage and
successful re-election. “It looks like everyone has their hands dipped
in the cookie jar,” Malou Mangahas, executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism, tells TIME.
Although graft is endemic in the Philippines, the sweeping scope of
pork barrel has stunned even the most cynical. The scale emerged after a
businesswoman named Janet Lim Napoles
was accused of laundering staggering sums of money for lawmakers. From
2009 to ’12, Napoles allegedly provided at least six Senators and 26
Congressmen with $224.9 million, according to an Aug. 16 report
by the Philippines’ official Commission on Audit. The 49-year-old
former Laguna City housewife, who turned herself in to President Benigno
Aquino III ostensibly out of fear for her own life, reportedly took a
cut of 30% while delivering the bulk back to the pockets of politicians —
much of it cash delivered furtively in shopping bags.
The opulent lifestyle enjoyed by Napoles — swanky houses, sports cars and a socialite daughter seen hobnobbing with celebrities including Justin Bieber at L.A. parties (Preview)
— spurred public outrage. “People were scandalized as you are dealing
with a country where 80% of the people are poor, and the minimum wage
doesn’t even reach the poverty line, only to find out that they do have
money but they can’t have services because the officials are pocketing
the money,” says Harry L. Roque, professor at the University of the
Philippines College of Law.
In response, hordes of seething voters have taken to the street to
demand an end to pork-barrel discretionary funding. So far, however,
Aquino has only gone as far as to offer more transparency. Under touted
reforms, each Senator and Congressman would maintain their current $4.5
million and $1.6 million allocations but must reveal where it is being
spent — a half-measure described as “misleading the people” by Roque.
“Unless you remove the budgetary entitlement of politicians,” he tells
TIME, “there will always be pork.”
Although Aquino remains untainted by the most serious allegations, he
has not been immune to criticism. Aside from lawmakers, the office of
the President also comes with a sizable discretionary budget — like
calamity relief — and there are calls for this to also be abolished, as
well as discretionary development funds for the judiciary and other arms
of government. This comes with political risks. “There could be mutiny
in the Congress if all pork is phased out,” warns Mangahas.
Indeed, pursuing legal cases will likely prove troublesome, as both
allies and enemies of the executive have been implicated. “It would be
difficult to file suits against so many Congressmen,” says Mangahas. In
addition, complex graft cases will take several years to reach the
courtroom — especially for the expected charges of “plunder” — during
which time even more people could be implicated. Investigation attempts
are currently focusing on a paper trail via illicit bank accounts, but
the likelihood of numerous cash transactions could make gathering
primary evidence extremely problematic.
Nevertheless, the strength of public feeling means that inaction is
not an option. “The President wants to finish his term and he will make
sure [something is done] as people are very, very mad,” explains Roque,
adding that some token convictions will likely be forced through as
quickly as possible. A long-awaited Freedom of Information Act is also
receiving widespread public backing as it will give media the tools to
properly investigate alleged impropriety. “I’m hoping that this anger
will redefine Philippine politics and end the cycle of vote buying and
corruption,” says Roque.
Read more: http://world.time.com/2013/09/11/philippines-pork-barrel-graft-probe-has-lawmakers-squealing/#ixzz2edSBcDFT
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