The decision of the Supreme Court (SC) on Nov. 19 declaring as unconstitutional the pork barrel system singularly reaffirmed the public clamor for its abolition. It is, however, a premature conjecture made by some sectors that the high court ruling spelled the end of political patronage. It does not. The high court ruling may have removed lump sum and unauditable discretionary funds for legislators but the enactment of yearly national budgets remains open to political compromises between the president, Congress, and other vested interest groups...
The big foreign financial loans and Congress’ supplementary $2.28bn budget meant to bankroll reconstruction efforts in Visayas and other provinces battered by a 7.2 magnitude earthquake and a supertyphoon are not enough to bring lives back to normal. Nor should funding be seen as the main strategy for what some international lenders call as the “massive challenge” of reconstruction...
