The President of the Philippines, President Aquino made an official statement in a speech aired live nationwide from Malacañang, stating that “Panahon na po para i-abolish and PDAF” he said.
The announcement of the abolishment of PDAF came 3 days before the anti-pork barrel rallies planned by various sectors in Metro Manila and key cities nationwide aside from the international group who pledge to support the campaign.
Update: Pork Barrel Abolished Official Transcript (Tagalog) and (English)
During the press conference, the President outlined reforms to ensure transparency in the utilization of the Priority Development (–foul word(s) removed–)istance Fund (PDAF) of lawmakers for the rest of the year. According to Pres. Aquino, the Palace will craft new mechanism to meet the needs of various sectors in a way that is transparent and fair.
The PDAF will no longer be coursed to non-government organizations and government-owned and controlled corporations that were used in the pork barrel controversy. No budget allocations will be given to consumable soft projects such as fertilizer, seeds, medical kits, false teeth and training materials that cannot be audited.
The President finally made a stand with the Pork Barrel controversy, weeks after the a systematic siphoning of lawmakers’ pork barrel by dubious NGOs was exposed in media reports and later confirmed in a special government audit.
President Aquino made the announcement with the presence of the leaders of both the Upper and Lower House, Senate President Franklin Drilon and House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., who both earlier dismissed calls for a congressional probe into the scam.
Watch the video announcement below:
Pres. Aquino Abolished Pork Barrel
i will vote again for pnoy or hu ever he wil campaign next electiön f he wil abolish the pdaf. Remember dat wat our beloved ninoy jr. Said “THE FILIPINO ARE WORTH DYING FOR”