What is pork barrel?
refers to congressional allocations such as the PDAF, financial subsidies to local government units (FSLGU), and the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) lump sum allocations for infrastructure projects identified by Congress.
"Pork barrel" is the portion of the national budget that is widely left to the legislators’ discretion when it comes to how the funds are spent. The term “pork barrel” refers to an ancient Western custom to preserve meat in actual wooden barrels for future consumption. |
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How does it affect the general community of tax payers ?
Investigating the wealth of businesswoman Janet Lim Napoles, after photos of her daughter displaying their wealth appeared on social media. Napoles is the alleged brains behind the P10-billion pork barrel "scam." The Instagram account of her daughter shows photos of the younger Napoles boasting about expensive cars she received from her parents during her birthday debut and graduation from college. The photos also show expensive watches, jewelry, clothing, and shoes.
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Using the conflict perspective the pork barrel scam of the Philippines shows how some institutions remain subservient to higher ranking institutions which is very common in todays society.
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The different senators who played a big role in the pork barrel scam.
District congressmen could get an average of P145-million in Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) which they can use to their discretion except to fund non-government projects and other initiatives excluded in the amended menu from the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for next year.
Legislators who have been calling for realignments to ensure an equitable distribution of the P1.645 trillion budget calmed down following the promise of an additional P75 million worth of district funds that will be on top of the PDAF amounting to P70 million annually. Emerging from an all-party caucus, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte said that some P50 million funds will be given to each district in the country from the P90.9-billion budget of Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) while P15 to P25 million from the motor vehicle users' charge may be given to district legislators |
Using the interactionist perspective these individuals plays several different roles in making networks in their assign district. They establish a monarchy type of system in their own provinces to have control over their money.
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How senators spent their 2011 pork barrel funds
Eight of the 23 senators spent at least P100 million each from the Congress’ pork barrel funds in 2011, according to a report of the Department of Budget and Management Wednesday.
Their expense make up half of the total P1,637,445,000 the DBM released for the Senate's priority development assistance fund or PDAF. Angara allocated P40 million for the construction of a school building, multi-purpose pathways, and installation of pipes and tanks for water supply in Aurora; Lapid spent P31 million for infrastructure projects including the rehabilitation of a hospital, and construction of a school building and line canal in Pampanga. Recto set aside P45 million for concreting of roads and purchasing of facilities for police stations in Batangas. On the other hand, Estrada gave away P50 million in financial assistance to indigent farmers through the Department of Agriculture. Honasan spent P40 million for the planting of jatropha, a plant touted as a source of biofuel but later discovered that it was not commercially viable. The Arroyo administration reportedly wasted more than P1 billion for this project. Sotto set aside P28.5 million for infrastructure and educational projects in Pampanga, home province of his wife, actress Helen Gamboa. Villar meanwhile allocated P39 million for scholarship programs in different provinces. |
Using the functionalist perspective these senators used the barrel for improvement of their own district despite other senators corrupting it. As seen in these senators the actions that they have done helps maintain their own provinces which in turn structured to maintain stability.
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