Three years after the pork barrel scam was exposed, a militant lawmaker on Monday renewed his call for concerned agencies to prosecute the ‘corrupt’ officials, particularly those allied with the Aquino administration.
“It has been three years since the pork barrel scandal exposed the billion-peso corruption of the people’s money. But the Aquino administration is only quick to punish its perceived enemies but very slow, if none at all, in punishing its own people and its allies,” Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Carlos Zarate said.
“The indictment of a few government officials involved in this big-time corruption case is but trimming the hedges of the well-entrenched corrupt system that bleed our country dry. The head honchos, especially the chums of President Aquino, still have their already dirty hands on public funds,” Zarate added.
Topping the list would be Budget Secretary Florencio Abad who said to be the architect of the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program of the Aquino administration, Zarate said.
“First off, why is Secretary Butch Abad still in the reigns of the Department of Budget and Management despite his invention of the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program or most notoriously known as the Presidential Pork Barrel?” Zarate asked. “SecretaryAbad, together with President Aquino violated the constitution in the level of P157 billion. Fiscal impunity under this government is so rampant that we let this big time corruption cases go unpunished,” Zarate pointed out.
Zarate added that other administration stalwarts such as North Cotabato 2nd district Rep. Nancy Catamco and 37 other administration allies who are implicated in the pork barrel scandal should also be held accountable for taking advantage of the people’s money.
Catamco stands accused of the P728-million fertilizer fund scam that surfaced in 2004, and the P10-billion Napoles pork barrel scam, Zarate said. “Secretary Abad has been busy inserting ‘hidden pork’ in the budget in huge lump sum allocations. The perpetuation of the pork barrel is ensured by Aquino’s cohorts,” Zarate said.
